-^ji>i'.t'A''*' '-J,'::'. ;;   ■■  -  -> 


^^J^  ~KH^xr  ^^^'i: 
r^rii!*--  '■'Vi.^ir..  ^"x."'^^  '•^-  -'X' 


The  First  Explorations  of  the 

Trans-Allegheny  Region 

by  the  Virginians 


-^04 


fioni  HO         Gi<-in»icli 


The  First  Explorations  of  the 

Trans- Allegheny  Region 

by  the  Virginians 

1650-1674 


By 

Clarence  Walworth  Alvord 

and 

Lee  Bidgood 


The  Arthur  H.  Clark  Company 
Cleveland :    1 9 1  2 


•^-    .'■: 


COPYRIGHT,     1912,    BY 

CLARENCE  WALWORTH  ALVORD 


rt 


A41 


Dedicated 

to 

Frederick  Jackson  Turner 


Contents 

Preface       .  .  •  •  •  •  •       *3 

The  Discovery  OF  THE  Ohio  Waters      .  .  •       i5 

I  Encouragement  from  the  Assembly  .  .      99 
Act  of  the  Assembly,  March,  1642/3 
Order  of  the  Assembly,  November,   1652 
Order  of  the  Assembly,  July,   1653 
Order  of  the  Assembly   [1658?] 
Order  of  the  Assembly,  March,  1659/60 

II  The  Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  .  .  .105 

III  The  Discoveries  OF  John  Lederer  .  .  •     Ui 

IV  Governor  Berkeley  as  a  promoter  of  explora- 

tion .  •  •  •  •  •       ^73 

Letter  of  Sir  William  Berkeley  to  Lord  Arlington, 
May  27,  1669 
I  I  Letter  of  Thomas  Ludvvell  to  Lord  Arlington,  June 

>*  27,  1670 

Letter  of  Sir  William   Berkeley  to  the  Committee 
for  Trade  and  Plantations,  January  22,   167 1/2 

V  The  expedition  of  Batts  and  Fallam        .  •     181 

John  Clayton's  transcript  of  the  Journal  of  Robert 
V  Fallam 

^  Extract  from  a  letter  of  John  Clayton  to  the  Royal 

Vi^S  Society 

0  Remarks  on  the  Journal  of  Batts  and  Fallam 

VI  The  journeys  OF  Needham  AND  Arthur    .  .     207 

Memorandum  by  John  Locke 

Letter  of  Abraham  Wood  to  John  Richards,  August 
22,  1674 

VII  CoXE's  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  ACTIVITIES  OF  THE  ENGLISH 

IN  THE  Mississippi  Valley  in  the  seventeenth 

CENTURY         ..•••• 

Bibliography          .            •            •            •            •            -251 
Index ^59 


229 


Illustrations 

Map  showing  the  explorations  of  Lederer,  1670; 
Batts  and  Fallam,  1 671;  Needham  and  Arthur, 
1673;  Arthur,  1673-1674  .  .  •    Frontispiece 

Map  showing  the  explorations  of  Bland  and  Wood, 

1650;  Lederer,  1669,  1670         .  .  facing  page  64 

Facsimile  of  the  original  title-page  of  the  Discov- 
ery OF  New  Brittaine  .  .  .  .107 

Facsimile  of  the  original  title-page  of  the  Discov- 
eries of  John  Lederer  ....     133 

Facsimile  of  John  Lederer's  map  .  .  .     I39 

Facsimile  of  the  signature  of  Abraham  Wood  .     227 


Preface 

After  the  brilliant  researches  of  Francis  Parkman 
and  Justin  Winsor,  it  is  remarkable  that  a  new  chap- 
ter in  the  history  of  the  explorations  of  North 
America  has  remained  so  long  unwritten;  yet  the 
story  of  the  discovery  of  the  Trans-Allegheny  region 
by  the  Virginians  is  here  first  told  in  its  entirety.  Since 
the  success  of  these  early  enterprises  has  been  doubted 
and  frequently  denied  by  our  best  historians,  the  at- 
tempt to  piece  together  the  story  from  the  scattered 
sources  and  to  determine  its  truth  needs  no  excuse. 
For  the  same  reason,  it  is  desirable  that  all  the  sources, 
whether  previously  printed  or  not,  be  published  in 
order  that  others  may  test  for  themselves  the  conclu- 
sions. If  the  memory  of  these  hardy  English  explor- 
ers be  revived  and  given  a  place  by  the  side  of  their 
better  known  but  not  more  daring  French  contem- 
poraries, Mr.  Bidgood  and  myself  will  feel  rewarded 
for  our  pains.  As  1  read  again  the  manuscript  before 
sending  it  to  the  press,  I  cannot  but  feel  that  a  great 
injustice  has  been  done  these  Virginians  by  history. 
Although  the  pen  of  a  Francis  Parkman  could  hardly 
raise  them  to  the  rank  of  Joliet,  Marquette,  and  La 
Salle,  for  these  latter  opened  to  the  knowledge  of 
mankind  a  continent,  still  the  names  of  Wood,  Batts, 
Fallam,  and  Needham  should  surely  be  as  well  known 
as  those  of  the  many  lesser  lights  that  surrounded 
these  greater  French  explorers. 


14  Preface 

At  the  request  of  the  publishers,  the  following  ex- 
pansion of  abbreviations  has  been  adopted  in  the  re- 
printing of  the  manuscript  originals:  Majestie; 
Lordship,  and,  which,  with;  and  occasionally  others 
have  been  expanded.  In  the  case  of  the  letter  "u" 
used  for  "v"  and  of  "yt''  for  "that,"  the  usual  practice 
of  makino;  the  alterations  has  been  followed.  "Ye" 
used  for  "the"  has  been  retained  in  some  documents. 

For  assistance  in  the  preparation  of  this  volume  our 
thanks  are  due  first  to  Miss  Agnes  Laut  who  kindly 
loaned  us  her  manuscript  and  notes.  We  wish  to 
make  acknowledgments  to  Dr.  J.  Franklin  Jameson. 
Dr.  Solon  J.  Buck,  Mr.  James  Mooney,  Mr.  Earl  G. 
Swem,  and  Professor  Frederick  J.  Turner  for  valu- 
able assistance  and  suggestions;  and  also  to  Miss 
Margaret  L.  Kingsbury  for  cooperation  on  the  bib- 
liography. Clarence  W.  Alvord. 
University  of  Illinois. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters 

The  Indies  are  discovered  and  vast  treasures  brought  from 
thence  ever)'  day.  Let  us,  therefore,  bend  our  endeavors 
thitherwards,  and  if  the  Spaniards  or  Portuguese  suffer  us 
not  to  join  with  them,  there  will  be  yet  region  enough  for 
all  to  enjoy.  -  Lord  Herbert. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  June,  in  the  year  1671,  there 
was  gathered  on  a  hill  overlooking  the  rapids  at  that 
picturesque  centre  of  the  Great  Lake  system  of  North 
America,  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  a  crowd  of  Indians,  in- 
habitants of  the  shores  of  these  inland  seas.  To  this 
spot  there  had  come  in  canoes  representatives  of  the 
Potawatomi,  the  Sauk,  the  Winnebago,  the  Cree,  the 
Ottawa  and  their  neighbors,  to  the  number  of  four- 
teen tribes  to  listen  to  the  message  of  their  "great 
father"  from  across  the  water.  This  message  had  been 
brought  to  them  by  Daumont  de  Saint-Lusson,  who, 
arrayed  in  all  the  gorgeous  coloring  of  silk  and  vel- 
vet, such  as  might  be  seen  in  the  court  of  Louis  XIV, 
was  the  centre  of  a  little  group  of  Frenchmen,  dressed 
like  himself  in  colors  to  impress  the  savage  mind  or 
else  in  the  raiment  of  the  Jesuit  fathers,  no  less  im- 
pressive if  more  somber.  With  the  accompaniment 
of  religious  ceremony  and  amidst  the  silence  of  men 
and  nature,  a  huge  cross  of  wood  was  reared  and 
planted  in  the  ground.  The  Frenchmen,  with  heads 
bared  to  the  breeze,  sang  the  Vexilla  Regis.  Beside 
the  cross  was  then  raised  a  cedar  post  carrying  a  metal 


1 8  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

plate  engraven  with  the  royal  arms,  and  the  Euro- 
peans broke  out  again  in  the  chant  of  the  Exaudiat. 
After  this,  one  of  the  Jesuits  lifted  up  his  voice  in 
prayer  to  Heaven  that  God  might  bless  this  enterprise 
of  the  "most  Christian  monarch." 

Advancing  w^ith  drawn  sword  in  one  hand  and  in 
the  other  a  clod  of  earth,  Saint-Lusson  read  in  a  loud 
voice  the  following  proclamation  to  the  nations  of  the 
world: 

In  the  name  of  the  Most  High,  Mighty,  and  Redoubted 
Monarch,  Louis,  Fourteenth  of  that  name,  Most  Christian 
King  of  France  and  of  Navarre,  I  take  possession  of  this 
place,  Sainte  Marie  du  Saut,  as  also  of  Lakes  Huron  and 
Superior,  the  Island  of  Manitoulin,  and  all  countries,  rivers, 
lakes,  and  streams  contiguous  and  adjacent  there  unto,  both 
those  which  have  been  discovered  and  those  vv^hich  may  be 
discovered  hereafter,  in  all  their  length  and  breadth,  bounded 
on  the  one  side  by  the  seas  of  the  North  and  of  the  West, 
and  on  the  other  by  the  South  Sea:  declaring  to  the  nations 
thereof  that  from  this  time  forth  they  are  vassals  of  his 
Majesty,  bound  to  obey  his  laws  and  follow  his  customs; 
promising  them  on  his  part  all  succor  and  protection  against 
the  incursions  and  invasions  of  their  enemies;  declaring  to 
all  potentates,  princes,  sovereigns,  states,  and  republics,  to 
them  and  to  their  subjects,  that  they  cannot  and  are  not  to 
seize  or  settle  upon  any  parts  of  the  aforesaid  countries,  save 
only  under  the  good  pleasure  of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty, 
and  of  him  who  will  govern  in  his  behalf;  and  this  on  pain 
of  incurring  his  resentment  and  the  efforts  of  his  arms. 
Vive  Le  Rot} 

With  such  impressive  ceremonies  and  presumptu- 
ous language  was  inaugurated  the  period  of  active 
discovery  and  occupation  of  the  great  American  in- 
land valley  by  the  French. 

1  Parkman,  Francis.     La  Salle  arid  the  discovery  of  the  Great  West,  51. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  19 

Three  months  after  Daumont  de  Saint-Lusson  pro- 
claimed the  dominion  of  the  ^rand  monarque  over 
land,  lakes,  and  rivers  of  the  West,  three  Englishmen 
of  the  colony  of  Virginia  crossed  the  Appalachian  di- 
vide and  pitched  camp  by  the  side  of  a  stream  whose 
waters,  after  joining  the  Ohio  flowed  to  the  Missis- 
sippi River  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Footsore  and 
weary  after  the  hard  journey  over  the  mountains 
where  they  had  experienced  the  perils  of  cold  and 
hunger,  with  their  homely  clothing  torn  to  shreds  by 
the  brambles,  there  was  no  possibility  of  equaling  the 
grand  ceremony  which,  a  few  weeks  before,  had  been 
performed  far  to  the  north  on  the  banks  of  the  lakes, 
nor  has  such  display  been  characteristic  of  the  Eng- 
lish advance  westward.  In  the  simplicity  of  their  ac- 
tions these  first  British  Americans  in  the  western  val- 
ley foreshadowed  the  great  migrations  of  the  future. 
First  of  all,  as  good  and  loyal  subjects,  they  cried  out: 
''Long  live  Charles  the  Second,  by  the  grace  of  God 
King  of  England,  Scotland,  France,  Ireland  and 
Virginia  and  of  all  the  Territories  thereunto  belong- 
ing." They  then  proceeded  to  set  their  marks  upon 
their  discovery:  four  trees  were  barked;  on  one  was 
branded  the  royal  insignia;  on  two  others  the  initials 
of  Governor  Berkeley  and  of  the  man  who  had  sent 
them  forth,  Abraham  Wood;  and  on  the  fourth,  those 
of  the  two  leaders  of  the  party,  Thomas  Batts  and 
Robert  Fallam.' 

Thus  almost  at  the  same  moment,  the  two  great 
rivals,  France  and  England,  set  up  their  claims  to  the 
immense  interior  valley.  The  struggle  for  its  mastery, 
perhaps  the  most  portentous  in  the  annals  of  history, 

-  See  pages  191-192. 


20  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

which  was  to  last  almost  a  century,  was  inaugurated. 
The  subject  of  this  volume  is  the  history  of  the  first 
act  played  by  men  of  English  speech  in  this  century 
long  drama.  It  is  one  of  the  ironies  of  history  that  an 
event  which  redounds  so  much  to  the  credit  of  Eng- 
lishmen, and  substantiates  so  completely  the  claims  of 
the  mother  country  to  that  particular  territory  for 
which  she  made  war  on  her  rival  at  such  a  cost  of 
blood  and  money,  is  practically  unknown  and  has 
even  been  frequently  denied  by  historians.  The  names 
of  Frontenac,  Joliet,  Marquette,  and  La  Salle  are  fa- 
miliar to  every  school-boy,  while  those  of  their  Eng- 
lish competitors  in  exploration,  who  were  in  every 
respect  their  equals  in  daring  and  enterprise,  have  re- 
mained till  this  day  in  obscurity,  almost  in  oblivion. 

The  brilliant  pen  of  Francis  Parkman,  which  has 
made  the  name  of  La  Salle  a  household  word,  wher- 
ever is  found  the  love  of  adventure  and  of  history, 
wrote : 

It  has  been  affirmed  that  one  Colonel  Wood,  of  Virginia. 
reached  a  branch  of  the  Mississippi  as  early  as  the  year  1654, 
and  that  about  1670  a  certain  Captain  Bolton  penetrated  to 
the  river  itself.  Neither  statement  is  sustained  by  sufficient 
evidence.^ 

What  the  most  brilliant  and  at  the  same  time  most 
careful  historian  of  America  wrote  has  been  followed 
without  investigation  by  his  successors.  Justin  Win- 
sor,  after  investigating  the  sources,  arrived  at  the 
same  conclusion.  In  one  of  his  well-known  volumes 
on  western  history,  he  wrote: 

There  is  much  less  certainty  that  at  about  the  same  time, 
as  is  claimed,  some  Englishmen  pushed  west  from  the  head- 

3  Parkman,  Francis.     La  Salle,   5. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  21 

waters  of  the  James  River  in  Virginia,  and  passed  the  moun- 
tains. The  story  is  told  in  Coxa's  Carolana  as  coming  from 
a  memorial  presented  to  the  English  monarch  in  1699,  ^"^ 
the  exploit  is  ascribed  to  a  Colonel  Abraham  Wood,  who 
had  been  ordered  to  open  trade  with  the  western  Indians, 
which  he  did  in  several  successive  journeys.  No  satisfactory 
confirmation  of  the  tale  has  ever  been  produced.* 

Within  these  pages  are  printed  the  sources  of  in- 
formation concerning  the  western  explorations  of  the 
Virginians  and  they  leave  no  doubt  about  the  event. 
Unquestionably,  Englishmen  were  among  the  first  to 
see  the  waters  that  flow  westward  and  southward. 
They  camped  by  the  side  of  a  branch  of  the  Ohio  two 
years  before  Joliet  and  Marquette  made  their  famous 
expedition  which  disclosed  the  great  Mississippi  to 
the  world.  They  knew  the  region  of  the  upper  Ohio 
years  before  the  French  had  any  record  of  the  river's 
course.^  If  priority  of  discovery  is  the  proof  of  do- 
minion, then  the  territory  in  dispute  between  France 
and  England,  that  caused  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  belonged  by  right  to  the  latter,  as  she  claimed; 
and  contemporary  pamphleteers,  like  Dr.  John 
Mitchell  were  absolutely  correct  in  the  mustering  of 
their  proof,  although  they  were  misled  concerning 
some  of  the  facts  and  the  actual  date  of  the  events.^ 

Before  recounting  the  story  of  these  hardy  Virgin- 
ians, who  first  crossed  the  great  divide,  it  is  necessary 
to  remind  ourselves  of  the  environment  of  which  they 
were  a  product,  for  their  actions  were  not  isolated 

*  Winsor,  Justin.  Cartler  to  Frontenac,  183.  See  also  his  Mississippi 
Basin,  452,  for  a  similar  statement. 

•''See  pages  24-25  for  the  so-called  La  Salle  discoven-. 

^  The  Contest  in  America  betzi-een  Great  Britain  and  France  (London, 
1757),  176. 


22  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

phenomena,  nor  were  their  discoveries  wholly  dis- 
associated with  the  event  in  the  far  north,  an  account 
of  which  opens  this  introduction. 

Historians  have  generally  interpreted  the  seven- 
teenth century  as  one  of  the  pivotal  eras  in  the  world's 
history.  It  saw  the  end  of  the  religious  wars,  the 
organization  of  the  modern  state,  and  the  rise  of  new 
world  powers.  No  less  than  in  the  world  of  politics, 
the  century  was  the  turning  point  from  the  old  to  the 
new  in  the  world  of  business.  The  former  supremacy 
of  the  city  merchant-barons  in  Italy  and  Germany 
had  passed  away.  With  the  opening  of  new  and 
broader  fields  of  enterprise  in  Asia  and  America,  busi- 
ness had  become  nationalized;  and  finally  by  the 
seventeenth  century  there  were  developed  the  great 
stock  companies  for  trading  and  colonizing.  This 
change  brought  with  it  tremendous  business  expan- 
sion. Enterprises  were  started  that  foreshadowed  the 
Mississippi  plans  of  John  Law  and  the  South  Sea 
Bubble.  The  European  population  was  educated  in 
get-rich-quick  schemes  of  every  variety;  and  rapidly 
the  market  for  the  sale  of  shares  in  such  undertakings 
was  developed.  Men  were  looking  everywhere  for 
rapid  financial  returns.  In  the  history  of  business  as 
of  politics,  the  close  of  the  century  marks  the  begin- 
ning of  the  present  day  world. 

This  desire  for  quick  profits  was  the  most  powerful 
motive  of  discovery  in  the  new  world.  It  was  the 
hope  of  gain  that  lured  men  to  undertake  the  long, 
wearisome,  and  dangerous  voyage  across  the  Atlantic 
and  incited  explorer,  warrior,  and  trader  to  plunge 
into  the  interior  through  the  unknown  dangers  of  the 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  23 


almost  impenetrable  forests.  The  hope  of  profits 
moved  the  statesmen  at  home  to  urge  these  adventur- 
ers to  renewed  efforts  and  to  play  their  own  cards 
craftily  in  the  diplomatic  game.  The  great  nations  of 
Europe  were  all  seeking  to  acquire  dominion  in 
America  that  they  might  share  in  the  treasures  of  the 
"Indies."  Spain  had  been  first,  then  came  Portugal; 
and  after  a  hundred  years,  the  two  great  rivals, 
France  and  England,  reached  out  for  North  Amer- 
ica. Their  stake  in  the  game  of  profits  was  the  great 
interior  valley,  long  before  discovered  by  Spanish  ad- 
venturers, but  never  exploited  and  so  almost  forgot- 
ten. 

In  both  countries  associations  of  moneyed  men 
were  formed  for  the  exploitation  of  this  world  that 
was  being  opened  up.  Their  first  thought  had  been 
to  rival  Spain  in  the  finding  of  the  precious  metals, 
and  Portugal  in  the  discovery  of  a  new  route  to  Asia. 
When  these  twin  expectations  seemed  less  attainable, 
they  laid  their  plans  for  the  development  of  the  fur- 
trade,  which  in  the  course  of  time  became  an  effective 
force  in  the  discovery  and  colonization  of  America. 
In  this  enterprise,  France  had  an  advantage  from  her 
position  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River  with  its  direct 
water  communication  into  the  interior;  and  soon 
French  traders  and  priests  were  roaming  over  the 
Great  Lakes,  where  they  heard  of  the  "great  water" 
beyond.  Before  the  first  Virginians  reached  the  head- 
waters of  the  Ohio,  it  is  probable  that  more  than  one 
wandering  Frenchman  had  crossed  the  narrow  divide 
that  separates  the  Lakes  from  the  Mississippi  system, 
but  there  is  only  one  recorded  instance  that  is  not  open 


24  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

to  dispute/  At  the  time  when  the  first  successful 
English  exploration  was  being  executed,  the  French 
were  making  plans  for  the  expedition  of  Joliet  and 
Marquette  which  has  brought  them  so  much  renown. 
The  success  of  the  fur  traders  of  Quebec  and  Mon- 
treal who,  with  their  supporters  in  France,  had  se- 
cured the  monopoly  of  the  rich  territory  around  the 
interior  lakes,  acted  only  as  a  spur  to  the  ambition  of 
other  Frenchmen,  who  sought  eagerly  for  similar 
fields.  In  La  Salle,  these  rivals  of  the  Jesuits  and 
their  trading  friends  found  a  worthy  leader.  The 
southern  shore  of  the  lakes  offered  a  promising  oppor- 
tunity. La  Salle's  exploratory  expedition  into  this 
region,  in  1668,  was  a  failure  on  account  of  ill  health, 
for  he  did  not  reach  the  Ohio  as  was  claimed  for  him 
later  by  his  friends.*  From  his  talks  with  the  Sene- 
cas,  however,  he  was  persuaded  of  the  possibility  of 
his  plans  and  soon  found  many  supporters  in  France 
who  were  ready  to  advance  money  in  the  enterprise. 

^  We  shall  not  enter  into  the  discussion  of  who  first  reached  the  branches 
of  the  Mississippi.  Historians  seem  inclined  to  deny  that  Jean  Nicollet 
visited  the  Wisconsin  in  1734.  The  question  of  the  two  French  traders 
of  1754  and  of  the  wanderings  of  Grosseilliers  and  Radisson  is  very  com- 
plex. There  seems  to  be  no  doubt  about  Father  Allouez's  visit  to  the 
Wisconsin  River  in  1670.  If  he  was  the  first  white  man  to  cross  the  divide, 
the  French  discovery  preceded  the  English  by  a  little  over  a  year.  Shea, 
John  G.  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  xx-xxv;  for 
bibliography  of  discussion  of  Jean  Nicollet's  expedition,  see  IVisconsin  His- 
torical Collections,  vol.  xi,   i,  footnote  i. 

8  Although  many  have  suspected  the  accounts  of  La  Salle's  discovery 
of  the  Ohio,  the  majority  of  historians  have  accepted  it  upon  very  slender 
evidence.  Mr.  Frank  E.  Melvin  of  the  University  of  Illinois  has  finally 
proved,  in  our  opinion,  by  the  use  of  new  evidence,  its  falsity.  His  essay 
on  this  subject  will  soon  be  published.  The  latest  writer  concerning  this 
region,  Mr.  Hanna,  in  his  Wilderness  Trail,  vol.  ii,  87  et  seq  is 
also  prepared  to  reject  the  tale  as  a  fabrication,  and  writes  that  it  is  "only 
a  question  of  time  when  that  evidence  will  be  declared  to  be  wholly  false." 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  25 

It  was  La  Salle's  fortune  to  open  up  the  Illinois  and 
Mississippi  region  and  there  to  organize  the  fur- 
trade;  but  his  activities  fall  after  the  period  narrated 
in  this  volume,  and  therefore  belong  to  a  later  period 
of  the  rivalry  between  his  country  and  England. 

The  contrast  ofifered  by  the  rapid  western  advance 
of  the  French  with  the  slower  movement  of  the  Eng- 
lish is  one  of  the  commonplaces  of  American  history. 
The  founder  of  Quebec  saw  the  Great  Lakes;  and 
before  his  death,  one  of  his  followers,  Jean  Nicollet, 
had  reached  the  western  shore  of  Lake  Michigan. 
La  Salle,  a  gentleman  of  France,  who  became  famil- 
iar with  court  life,  plunged  into  the  wilderness  short- 
ly after  his  arrival  in  Canada,  and  fifteen  years  later 
had  reached  the  Illinois  River.  The  rapidity  and 
boldness  of  this  westward  advance  arouses  the  imagi- 
nation. In  the  actions  of  its  leaders  there  is  typified 
the  eternal  conflict  of  man  with  nature.  The  French- 
man alone  in  the  wilderness,  a  thousand  miles  from 
his  connections,  is  a  Prometheus  confident  in  his 
strength  hurling  defiance  at  Zeus.  Undoubtedly  this 
is  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  heroes  of  French  explo- 
ration are  so  well  known;  their  exploits  have  all  the 
elements  that  appeal  to  the  romantic  aspirations  of 
our  nature. 

The  English  advance,  on  the  other  hand,  has  been 
slower  and  more  secure.  They  have  not  reached  out 
into  the  unknown,  until  the  settlements  at  their  back 
have  ofifered  them  a  safe  base  for  their  operations; 
and  in  all  periods  of  our  history,  the  men  of  adventure 
have  generally  been  reared  in  a  societN^  particularly 
well  fitted  to  train  them  for  the  life  of  exploration. 
These  conditions  have  been  found  on  what  is  known 


26  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


as  the  frontier,  that  line  between  civilization  and 
savagery,  ever  slowly,  irresistibly,  and  inexorably 
advancing  westward.'  The  Englishmen,  who  were  to 
become  the  rivals  of  the  French  explorers,  were  mem- 
bers of  the  first  real  American  frontier;  and,  there- 
fore, a  few  words  of  explanation  of  this  unique  so- 
ciety is  necessary  for  a  complete  understanding  of 
their  careers. 

From  1607  to  1645  the  English  frontier  was  the 
American  shore  line,  and  the  newcomer  in  stepping 
from  his  ship  to  terra  firma  abandoned  security  and 
civilization  for  the  dangers  and  barbarisms  of  the 
border  land  and  entered  upon  the  work  of  adjusting 
himself  to  the  new  environment.  All  Virginia  was 
in  1644  still  exposed  to  the  Indian  menace,  and  a 
large  proportion  of  its  settlers  actually  perished  in  the 
rising  of  that  year.  Nothing  more  than  a  pioneer 
life,  economic  and  social,  existed  in  any  or  all  the 
groups  of  settlements  that  constituted  the  colony.  The 
next  year,  as  a  direct  result  of  Opechancanough's 
massacre,  forts  were  established  along  the  first  inland 
frontier,  the  fall  line  of  the  rivers.  These  were 
destined  to  be  successfully  maintained  and  strength- 
ened from  time  to  time;  and  no  serious  Indian  raid 
broke  through  this  line  of  defense.  Henceforth  sav- 
age warfare  was  transferred  from  the  tidewater  terri- 
tory to  the  country  between  the  falls  and  the  moun- 
tains. 

To  this  region  there  gradually  drifted  the  char- 
acteristically   pioneer  and   border  elements   of   the 

"^  See  Turner's  brilliant  essay,  "The  Significance  of  the  Frontier  in 
American  History,"  in  American  Historical  Association,  Report,  1893,  p. 
199. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  27 


population;  and  in  the  next  generation,  there  was 
evolved  the  first  truly  American  backwoods  society 
with  all  its  familiar  activities:  Indian  trade,  explora- 
tion, hunting,  trapping;  raising  of  hogs,  cattle,  and 
horses,  which  were  branded  and  ran  loose  on  the  wild 
lands;  pioneer  farming,  capitalistic  engrossment,  and 
exploitation  of  the  wilderness.  The  American  fron- 
tiersman, a  new  type  in  history,  was  developed  before 
1700.  He  was  not  inferior  in  any  respect  save  num- 
bers to  his  descendants  of  the  eighteenth  and  nine- 
teenth centuries. 

The  military  posts  at  the  falls  of  the  James,  the 
Appomattox,  the  Pamunkey,  and  later,  the  Rappa- 
hannock, the  Blackwater,  and  the  Nansemond,  at  once 
became,  and  for  a  century  remained,  the  foci  of  this 
new  society,  the  points  of  departure  of  western  ad- 
venture and  exploitation,  centers  of  trade  and  traffic 
with  settlers  and  savages  far  and  near.    They  were 
the  Leavenworths  and  Laramies  of  our  first  inland 
frontier;  and  in  the  course  of  time  cities  have  de- 
veloped on  some  of  these  sites,  as  has  so  frequently 
been  the  case  during  the  American  westward  march. 
In  the  protected  region  betw^een  the  fall  line  and  the 
ocean,  economic  and  social  development  proceeded 
rapidly;  and,  though  frontier  conditions  lingered  for 
many  years  betw^een  the  rivers  and  about  the  edges  of 
the  great  swamps,  pioneer  life  had  in  the  main  been 
transferred  before  the  end  of  the  century  to  the  sec- 
ond frontier  belt,  pushed  out  by  a  new  and  distinct 
civilization,  the  famous  society  of  tidewater  Virginia, 
w^ith  which,  however,  we  are  not  here  concerned,  ex- 
cept to  remember  that  the  pioneer  community  was 
never  completely  separated  from  the  better  populated 


28  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

settlement  of  the  coast,  whose  relation  to  it  was  that 
of  a  parent. 

The  period  of  exploration  actually  began  with  the 
first  settlement.  Tidewater  Virginia  is  everywhere 
easy  of  access  by  ships  and  boats,  and  was  promptly 
mapped  by  John  Smith  and  his  companions.  The 
earliest  settlers,  also,  soon  obtained  from  the  Indians 
some  vague  notions  of  the  principal  features  of  the 
interior,  such  as  the  Appalachian  mountains.'^  Smith 
and  Newport  in  the  spring  of  1607  and  again  in  the 
autumn  of  1608  passed  beyond  the  falls  of  the  James, 
and  on  the  second  trip  reached  the  Monacan  [Mana- 
kin]  town,  some  thirty  miles  above  the  falls.''  Other 
adventurers  may  in  very  early  times  have  made  their 
way  some  little  distance  above  the  head  of  tide  on  the 
rivers. 

The  first  serious  project  to  explore  and  exploit  the 
country  beyond  the  reach  of  navigation  seems  to  have 
been  formed  in  1641.  In  June  of  that  year,  four 
prominent  men  of  the  colony  petitioned  the  Assembly 
for  "leave  and  encouragement"  to  undertake  dis- 
coveries to  the  southwest  of  Appomattox  River.  The 
legislators  complied  in  March,  1643,  with  a  law 
which  assured  the  adventurers  any  and  all  profits 
which  they  could  make  out  of  their  undertaking,  for 
a  term  of  fourteen  years,  reserving  only  the  royal  fifth 
^   from  any  mines  that  might  be  discovered.'^    It  does 

1"  "Mountaynes  Apalatsi:"  Capt.  Neiuport's  Discoveries,  1607  Public 
Record  Office,  London ;  also  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Transactions, 
vol.  iv,  40,  46-48;  and  Brown,  A.  First  Republic  in  America,  34. 

11  American  Antiquarian  Society,  Transactions,  vol.  iv,  40  et  seq.\  Smith, 
John.   General!  histnrie  of  Virginia,  vol.  i,   195-197. 

1-  See  pages  101-102;  also  footnote  114  for  discussion  of  the  date  of  the 
law  in  question. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  29 

not  appear  that  the  projectors  carried  out  their  en- 
terprise, for  prior  to  1652,  when  the  next  similar 
grant  was  made,  their  concession  had  been  annulled.'^ 
None  of  them  reappear  in  the  subsequent  history  of 
western  exploration. 

The  importance  of  the  act  of  1643  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  served  later  as  a  precedent,  often  specifically 
cited,  for  similar  legislation  applying  to  the  southern 
as  well  as  to  the  western  frontier."  The  usual  dura- 
tion of  the  grant  was,  as  in  the  first  instance,  fourteen 
years,  and  the  monopoly  of  trade  w^as  always  abso- 
lute for  that  time;  but  in  1652  the  important  qualifi- 
cation was  made,  and  subsequently  followed,  that  of 
the  lands  discovered  the  favored  parties  should  have 
first  choice,  but  that  later  comers  were  not  to  be  ex- 
cluded from  patenting  the  remainder.^^ 

Perhaps  the  Indian  outbreak  of  1644  had  inter- 
fered with  the  plans  of  these  first  adventurers.  That 
disaster,  on  the  other  hand,  prepared  the  way  for  new 
operations,  for  its  suppression  was  followed,  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1645,  by  an  act  establishing  forts  at  the  falls  of 
the  James,  at  Pamunkey,  and  on  the  ridge  of  Chicka- 
hominy,  all  north  of  the  James. '*^ 

In  March  of  the  year  following  the  Assembly  pro- 
vided for  a  fourth  post,  at  the  falls  of  the  Appomat- 
tox, to  protect  southside  Virginia  and  from  which 
expeditions  might  be  led  against  the  Indians.    "Fort 

^3  See  page  102. 

i*See  pages  102,  104,  112;  Hening,  W.  \Y.  Statxiies  at  Larcre,  vol.  i,  380- 
381,  vol.  iii,  468;  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  West 
Indies,  1699,  no.   399. 

1^  Se€  pages  102,  104. 

i«  Hening,  W.  W.     Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  293-294. 


30  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

Henry,"  as  it  was  called,  had  a  garrison  of  forty-five 
men.''  Its  commander,  Captain  Abraham  Wood,  was 
to  play  an  important  part  in  the  subsequent  explora- 
tions. 

Regular  military  establishments  are  always  too  ex- 
pensive for  rude  and  thinly  settled  communities  to 
maintain.  The  salaries  of  the  four  commanders - 
each  receiving  six  thousand  pounds  of  tobacco  annu- 
ally-were  probably  the  heaviest  expenditure,  but 
constituted  in  themselves  a  grave  tax  on  the  commun- 
ity. We  find  the  Burgesses  ingenuously  reasoning  in 
the  preamble  of  an  act  of  the  October  session  of  that 
very  year  (1646)  that  the  forts  are  very  necessary,  but 
if  maintained  at  public  cost,  a  great  burden;  hence  it 
will  be  best  to  have  them  kept  up  by  individual 
"undertakers,"  who  will  in  compensation  receive  land 
and  privileges.  Acting  on  this  principle,  the  posts 
were  transferred  to  persons  named  in  the  act,  with 
suitable  arrangements  in  each  case.  Fort  Henry 
passed  to  Abraham  Wood.  That  portion  of  the  act 
which  provided  for  the  transfer  to  him  is  worth  read- 
ing, for  it  is  not  only  representative  of  the  remaining 
cessions,  but  it  also  clearly  illustrates  the  dependence 
of  institutions  on  conditions  and  the  revival  of  dis- 
carded systems,  such  as  feudalism,  whenever  in  new 
times  and  places  the  conditions  from  which  they  first 
sprang  are  reproduced. 

Be  it  therefore  enacted  that  Capt.  Abraham  Wood  whose 
service  hath  been  employed  at  Forte  Henery,  be  the  under- 
taker for  the  said  Forte,  unto  whome  is  granted  sixe  hundred 
acres  of  land  for  him  and  his  heires  for  ever;  with  all  houses 
and  edifices  belonging  to  the  said  Forte,  with  all  boats  and 

!■'■  Hening,  W.  W.     Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  315. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  31 

amunition  att  present  belonging  to  the  said  Forte,  Provided 
that  he  the  said  Capt.  Wood  do  maintayne  and  keepe  ten 
men  constantly  upon  the  said  place  for  the  terme  of  three 
yeares,  duringe  which  time  he,  the  said  Capt.  Wood,  is  ex- 
empted from  all  publique  taxes  for  himself  and  the  said^enn 
persons.^** 

This  fortified  post  remained  the  property  and  the 
home  of  Abraham  Wood  for  at  least  thirty  years; 
and  there,  doubtless,  he  died,  leaving  it  as  an  inherit- 
ance to  his  children.  He  himself  always  called  it 
"Fort  Henry,"  but  the  station  or  the  settlement  that 
grew  up  about  it  was  long  known  as  Wood.'''  Only 
when  the  town  was  incorporated,  in  1748,  does  the 
name  "Petersburg"  seem  to  have  become  attached 
to  it.""  Under  Wood  and  his  successors,  this 
establishment  was  the  most  important  and  interesting 
of  the  stations  that  dotted  the  fall  line  in  Virginia. 
On  the  other  important  rivers  were  similar  posts, 
centers  like  it  of  all  the  varied  activity  of  the  frontier. 
That  one  which  grew  into  the  city  of  Richmond  is 
particularly  well  known  through  the  activities  and 
writings  of  the  Byrds.  Cadwallader  Jones,  at  the 
head  of  tide  on  the  Rappahannock,  in  1682,  had  a  con- 
siderable trade  with  the  Indians  four  hundred  miles 
to  the  south-southwest,  and  wrote  to  the  Proprietor  of 
Maryland  for  permission  to  secure  in  that  province 
shell  money  for  carrying  it  on."^    The  military  his- 

18  Heniner,  W.  W.     Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  326. 

1^  Augustine  Herman's  Map  of  I'irs^inia  and  Maryland  (London,  1670), 
in  Virginia  and  Maryland  Boundary  Report  (1873)  ;  A  Netv  Map  of  Vir- 
ginia, Mary-land,  and  the  improved  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Ne-jj  Jar- 

sey  (1719)- 

20  Heninp,  W.  W.  Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  vi,  211. 

21  Public  Record  Office,  Colonial  Papers,  vol.  xlviii,  no.  22,  Cadwallader 
Jones  to  Lord  Baltimore,  February'  6,  1681/2. 


32  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

tory  of  all  the  posts  can  be  followed  in  the  laws  and 
the  state  papers  of  the  colony;  but  Fort  Henry  is  en- 
tirely typical  of  all,  and  we  know  more  about  it  than 
about  any  of  the  others.  From  it  went  out  the  Occo- 
neechee  or  Trading  Path  southward  to  the  Catawbas 
and  beyond,  and  also  the  trail  leading  westward  to 
the  headwaters  of  the  Roanoke  and  over  the  moun- 
tains to  the  New  River  -  the  two  great  roads  of  early 
trade  and  settlement,  both  of  them  first  explored  by 
Abraham  Wood  and  his  associates. 

Fort  Henry  in  Wood's  time  was  a  place  like  Au- 
gusta, Georgia,  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury or  Chicago  in  the  early  nineteenth,  or  any  one  of 
a  dozen  others  that  come  to  mind  as  examples  of  the 
western  frontier  town  and  military  and  trading  center. 
In  it  were  conducted  all  the  familiar  activities  of 
similar  settlements  of  a  later  period,  and  with  proper 
geographic  changes  we  may  without  serious  error 
project  back  upon  it  our  clearer  picture  of  the  life  of 
the  far  western  posts  whose  romantic  and  picturesque 
qualities  have  won  so  large  a  place  in  literature.  Al- 
though the  contemporary  documents  are  relatively 
scanty,  yet  they  enable  us  to  describe  directly  the  old 
Virginia  post,  and  to  show  it  as  the  prototype  of  west- 
ern towns  of  all  times,  even  of  Athabasca  Landing  in 
our  own  day. 

Garrisons  were  from  time  to  time  provided  by  the 
Assembly.  Later,  in  the  last  decade  of  the  seven- 
teenth and  early  years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  one 
of  the  squadrons  of  rangers  went  out,  at  stated  inter- 
vals, from  its  palisades  to  beat  about  the  country  for 
hostiles.  Just  across  the  river  was  situated  the  prin- 
cipal village  or  "town"  of  the  Appomattox  Indians, 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  33 

who  furnished  Wood  with  messengers,  hunters,  por- 
ters, and  courageous  and  faithful  guides.  At  its  ware- 
houses were  fitted  out  the  pack-trains  of  the  Indian 
traders.  Sometimes  these  traders  were  the  servants 
or  paid  agents  of  Wood  or  of  his  associates,  sometimes 
they  were  free  traders,  "of  substance  and  reputation," 
who  received  goods  on  credit,  and  contracted  to  pay 
for  them  at  a  stipulated  price.  Wood  imported  from 
England  the  varied  articles  of  barter,  chiefly 

Guns,  Powder,  Shot,  Hatchets  (which  the  Indians  call 
Tomahawks),  Kettles,  red  and  blue  Planes,  Duffields,  Stroud- 
water  blankets,  and  some  Cutlary  Wares,  Brass  Rings  and 
other  Trinkets.  These  Wares  are  made  up  into  Packs  and 
Carryed  upon  Horses,  each  Load  being  from  one  hundred, 
fifty  to  two  hundred  Pounds,  with  which  they  are  able  to 
travel  about  twenty  miles  a  day,  if  Forage  happen  to  be 
plentiful.^^ 

In  the  early  days,  before  the  competition  of  Charles- 
ton began  to  be  felt,  the  pack-trains  might  count  a 
hundred  horses.  Guided  by  only  fifteen  or  sixteen 
men  they  filed  ofif  with  tinkling  bells  southward  along 
the  Occoneechee  path  to  visit  the  Indians  of  the  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia  piedmont,  or  even  to  swing 
around  the  end  of  the  Appalachian  mountains  and 
track  northward  again  to  the  Cherokee."^  Chiefs  of 
distant  tribes,  like  the  "king"  of  the  Cherokee,  came 
in  with  their  followers  to  trade  and  treat  with  Wood 
and  received  suitable  entertainment;  though  rival 
traders  and  the  Indians  of  the  nearer  tribes,  anxious 
to  retain  their  position  as  middlemen,  tried  by  force 
or  fraud  to  intercept  them  and  frequently  succeeded. 

-2  Byrd,  William.     If'^ritings,  234-235. 

-^  —  Ihid.,   184-185,  234-235;  Lawson,  John.     History  of  Carolina,  "Pre- 
face," and  81-82,  95-96,  and  passim. 


34  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

Exploring  expeditions  were  sent  out  from  time  to 
time,  and  these  were  often  followed  by  supporting 
and  searching  parties. 

Such  was  the  residence  and  business  headquarters 
of  Abraham  Wood,  who  was  to  prove  himself  the 
Frontenac  of  Virginia,  the  organizer  of  the  first  great 
explorations  of  British  America.  He  made  himself 
so  much  a  part  of  the  frontier  community  and  was  so 
actively  concerned  in  person  or  through  his  agents  in 
the  western  expeditions  throughout  the  generation 
prior  to  1676,  that  the  history  of  westward  expansion 
during  the  period  is  almost  a  biography  of  this  re- 
markable man. 

Inquiry  into  his  origin  and  his  life  before  he  be- 
came commander  of  Fort  Henry  in  1646  encounters 
most  serious  difficulties.  A  lad  named  Abraham 
Wood  came  to  Virginia  in  the  "Margaret  and  John" 
in  1620,  as  an  indentured  servant,  and  he  was  living 
in  the  service  of  Captain  Samuel  Mathews  on  that 
worthy's  plantation  across  the  river  from  Jamestown 
in  1623  ^"<^  ^"  1625.^*  This  boy  is  usually  identified 
with  the  distinguished  man  of  later  years.  The  ages 
would  seem  to  fit  well,  and  after  diligent  search,  it 
has  been  impossible  to  find  mention  of  another  Abra- 
ham Wood  in  the  colony  in  the  early  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. Since  the  rise  to  prominence  of  a  former  in- 
dentured servant  is  in  several  instances  established, 
that   fact  cannot  militate   against  the   identity.     It 

2*  "List  of  the  Living  and  Dead  in  Virginia,"  February  i6,  1623,  in 
Colonial  Records  of  Virginia  (Richmond,  1874),  46  ;  "Muster  of  the  Inhabit- 
ants in  Virginia,"  1624/5,  i"  Hotten,  J.  C.  Emigrants,  2^^.  The  boy's  age 
is  given  here  as  ten,  but  it  is  not  certain  whether  that  is  to  be  taken  as  his 
age  in  1625,  when  the  muster  was  taicen,  or  in  1620  when  he  was  brought 
over. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  35 

should  be  noticed,  however,  that  before  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  London  Company  in  1624,  it  was  practi- 
cally necessary  for  anyone,  not  a  member  of  the  com- 
pany to  enter  into  indenture  of  some  sort  in  order 
to  go  to  the  new  country;  and  the  census  of  1625 
shows  that  on  many  of  the  "particular  plantations" 
all  except  the  commander  were  ranked  as  "servants." 
The  terms  of  these  indentures  are  unknown  and  there 
is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  all  were  alike,  so  that  it 
is  not  necessary  to  think  that  Abraham  Wood,  the 
servant,  was  a  menial,  or  a  field  hand,  or  that  his  ex- 
traction was  not  good  and  colonial  connections  help- 
ful."^ The  surname  Wood  is  indeed  not  uncommon 
in  early  Virginia,""  and  there  is  no  certain  proof  of 
the  identity  of  the  boy  and  the  man,  yet  there  is  no 
direct  evidence  to  the  contrary,  and  the  identification 
seems  on  the  whole  sufficiently  probable  to  receive 
provisional  acceptance. 

The  first  appearance  of  Abraham  Wood  as  a  man, 
and  undeniably  the  Wood  of  history,  is  in  1638,  when, 
according  to  the  identification  just  accepted,  he  was 
twenty-eight  years  old.  From  that  time  until  1680, 
the  records  have  by  assiduous  patching  of  tiny  frag- 
ments been  made  to  give  us  a  reasonably  continuous, 
though  by  no  means  complete  and  satisfactory  ac- 
count of  him.  No  record  of  the  date  or  circum- 
stances of  his  death  has  been  found,  and  he  passes 
from  the  stage  as  shrouded  in  obscurity  as  he  entered 
it.     During  forty-two  years  of  known  active  life  he 

25  Compare  the  case  of  Adam  Thoroughgood. 

-"  Smith,  John.  History  of  I'irginia,  vol.  i,  234,  237,  vol.  ii,  55,  X37, 
149,  261 ;  indices  of  the  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  for  the  period, 
under  "Wood." 


36  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

attained  eminence  as  a  landowner,  politician,  soldier, 
trader,  and  explorer.  His  position  in  each  of  these 
lines  of  endeavor  was  as  high  as  the  colony  afforded, 
and  the  first  adequate  presentation  of  his  life  reveals 
him  as,  with  the  possible  exceptions  of  Bacon  and 
Berkeley,  the  most  interesting  and  commanding  fig- 
ure of  contemporary  Virginia. 

Apart  from  the  services  to  Western  exploration, 
which  would  in  any  case  have  entitled  him  to  a  place 
in  American  history,  Wood's  career  merits  careful 
study  as  that  of  a  typical  Virginian  of  the  seventeenth 
century.  Even  in  the  obscurity  of  his  origin  he  was 
representative  of  a  large  section  of  the  successful 
colonists  of  his  time.  As  with  most  of  his  fellows,  no 
personal  or  family  records  have  preserved  his  mem- 
ory to  us.  A  single  letter,  now  first  printed,  is  the 
only  known  paper  that  has  come  down  from  his  hand. 
In  the  direction  of  his  energies  and  in  the  methods  by 
which  he  achieved  success,  he  is  the  perfect  example 
of  the  seventeenth  century  Virginian  of  the  upper  or 
"planter"  class.  The  following  condensed  sketch  of 
his  personal  fortunes  aims  to  add  another  to  the  small 
group  of  individual  or  family  studies  which  alone 
enable  us  to  make  a  basic  and  reliable  analysis  of  the 
economic  foundations,  structure,  and  conditions  of 
growth  of  early  Virginian  society,  and  particularly 
of  the  so-called  aristocracy." 

To  secure  land,  and  in  large  amounts,  was  the 
earliest  care  of  any  ambitious  colonist.    Accordingly, 

27  Bassett's  account  of  the  rise  and  decay  of  the  Byrd  family,  in  his  intro- 
duction to  the  Writ'iTiirs  of  Byrd,  is  much  the  best  of  these  studies.  The 
close  similarity  of  the  career  of  Wood  to  that  of  his  younger  contemporary, 
the  first  William  Byrd,  will  be  observed. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  37 

we  first  find  Wood  busily  engaged  in  taking  up  large 
tracts  in  Henrico  and  Charles  City  Counties.  On 
May  14,  1638,  he  patented  four  hundred  acres  in 
Charles  City,  on  the  Appomattox  River.'"  The  next 
year  he  secured  two  hundred  acres  in  Henrico,  and 
in  1642,  seven  hundred  more  in  the  same  county." 
In  1646  he  acquired  another  six  hundred  acres  in  the 
Fort  Henry  tract,  by  special  grant  of  the  Assembly.^" 
His  land  hunger,  as  well  as  the  means  of  satisfying  it, 
apparently  increased  with  his  growing  power,  for  on 
June  9,  1653,  we  find  him  patenting  one  thousand, 
five  hundred,  fifty  seven  acres  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Appomattox  River  in  Charles  City  County,"*'  and  ac- 
quiring another  seven  hundred  acres  in  Henrico  in 
the  following  year,^'  and  apparently  finishing  his  en- 
deavors in  this  direction  on  September  16,  1663,  by 
patenting  two  thousand  and  seventy-three  acres  in 
Charles  City,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Appomattox, 
adjoining  Fort  Henry.^^ 

The  grants  listed  include  a  total  of  six  thousand 
two  hundred  and  thirty  acres,  unless,  as  is  probable, 
one  or  more  of  them  was  a  re-grant  of  patents  allowed 
to  lapse  by  non-payment  of  fees.  This  amount  alone 
is  large  for  the  early  time  and  for  the  soon  thickly 
settled  and  valuable  lands  along  the  tidal  reaches  of 
the  James  and  Appomattox;  but  it  is  extremely  im- 
probable that  it  includes  all  of  Wood's  holdings,  par- 
ticularly in  view  of  the  fact  that  no  addition  has  been 

28  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  ix,  230. 

29  Virginia  County  Records,  vol.  vi,  82. 

30  See  pages  30-31. 

31  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  x,  26,  246. 

32  Virginia  County  Records,  vol.  vi,  82. 

33  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  x,  27,  248. 


)  '•■> 


7  '"'  1  f)  ^ 


38  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

found  later  than  1663.  This  is  enough  to  illustrate 
the  gradual  method  of  acquisition,  and  to  show  the 
man  as  one  of  the  substantial  landowners  of  the  colony 
by  the  time  he  had  reached  middle  life.  Perhaps, 
after  1663,  the  press  of  other  and  more  profitable  and 
absorbing  interests  diverted  his  attention  from  the  en- 
grossing of  wild  land. 

Men  who  would  rise  in  early  Virginia  turned 
naturally  and  necessarily  to  politics,  and  for  large 
landowners  success  was  easy  and  almost  automatic. 
Six  years  after  his  appearance  as  a  patentee,  Wood 
made  his  entrance  into  the  political  field  as  member 
of  the  House  of  Burgesses  for  Henrico  County,  at 
the  session  beginning  October  i,  1644.  He  continued 
to  serve  in  this  capacity  for  two  years  and  was  present 
at  the  session  mentioned  and  at  those  beginning 
February  17,  1644/5,  November  29,  1645,  March, 
1645/6,  and  October  5,  1646.  As  burgess  for  Charles 
City  County,  he  was  present  at  the  sessions  beginning 
November  20,  1654,  and  December,  1656.  During 
this  time  he  rendered  the  usual  service  on  committees, 
being  placed  on  the  committee  for  private  causes, 
November  29,  1654,  and  on  the  committee  on  mar- 
kets, March  20,  1655.  His  most  important  service  of 
this  kind  was  on  the  committee  "for  Review  of  Acts" 
(December,  1656),  designated  to  codify  the  laws  of 
the  colony.  This  committee  labored  diligently  at  its 
task,  and  digested  all  the  acts  of  Assembly  into  one 
volume,  in  which  form  they  were  enacted  at  the  ses- 
sion of  March,  1657/8.^* 

3*  Hening,  W.  W.  Statutes  at  Lar^e,  vol.  i,  283,  289,  299,  322,  373,  386, 
421,  426,  427;  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  viii,  388, 
389,  being  excerpts  from  the  Randolph  Mss. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  39 

The  Council  was  the  goal  of  political  endeavor  in 
colonial  Virginia.  It  was  not  merely  the  upper 
branch  of  the  Assembly,  but  an  administrative  body 
advisory  to  the  governor,  and  the  highest  court  in  the 
colony.  It  numbered  but  a  dozen  men,  and  these 
were  usually,  even  uniformly,  the  most  influential 
and  wealthy  in  the  colony.  Membership  was  for  life, 
and  a  council  seat  was  the  highest  place  open  to  a 
colonist.  In  the  spring  of  16158,  Wood  passed  into 
this  body.  It  was  during  the  period  of  the  provision- 
al government,  and  vacancies  in  the  council  were 
being  filled  by  the  local  authorities.  There  may  have 
been  a  conflict  between  the  executive  and  the  popular 
chamber  over  the  manner  of  Wood's  choice,  for  he  is 
reported  as  elected  councillor  by  the  burgesses, 
March  13,  1657/8,^"  and  again  as  being  nominated  by 
the  governor  and  approved  by  the  House,  April  3, 
1658.^" 

Wood  lived  to  serve  in  this,  the  highest  governing 
body  of  the  colony,  for  at  least  twenty-two  years.  His 
name  occurs  occasionally  in  its  fragmentary  records, 
but  nothing  of  importance  about  him  is  preserved." 
The  last  appearance  is  in  a  curious  connection.  For 
January  23,  1679/80,  there  has  been  preserved  a 
tantalizing  fragment  of  the  council  journal:     "For 

35  Hening,  W.  W.     Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  432. 

38  _  Ibid.,  505.  To  make  the  episode  yet  more  confusing,  the  notes  made 
by  Conway  Robinson  from  the  council  records  destroyed  in  the  burning  of 
the  old  General  Court-house  on  evacuation  day,  1865,  state  that  Wood  was 
sworn  councillor,  June  2,  1657;  but  this  is  probably  an  error.  Virginia 
Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  viii,  164.  See  also  Ibid.,  vol.  ix, 
308. 

37  Hening,  W.  W.  Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  526.  Virginia  Maga- 
zine of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  xii,  205  (i66o),  vol.  iv,  245   (1667). 


40  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

insulting  words  to  Major-General  Wood,  forgiveness 
to  be  asked."  ''  Evidently  the  septuagenarian  coun- 
cillor retained  his  spirit,  and  some  indiscreet  unknown 
was  forced  to  eat  his  words.  His  death  must  have 
occurred  shortly  thereafter.^^ 

In  colonial  Virginia  law  was  closely  associated  with 
politics.  Even  before  the  emergence  of  a  group  of 
trained  lawyers,  the  ordinary  prominent  citizen  took 
a  keen  and  intelligent  interest  in  legal  afifairs.  The 
association  of  land-owning,  too,  with  local  judicial 
service  was  almost  as  strong  as  in  contemporary  Eng- 
land. Wood's  career  is  somewhat  typical  in  this  re- 
gard also.  His  service  while  in  the  House  of  Bur- 
gesses on  the  committee  for  private  causes  and  that 
for  review  of  acts  has  just  been  mentioned.  In  1656, 
we  find  him  petitioning  the  House  that  courts  be  held 
on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  south  side  of  Charles  City  County.*" 
For  some  years  he  was  one  of  the  justices  of  the  peace 
of  his  home  county.*'  Finally,  on  November  28,  1676, 
he  was  appointed  by  the  home  government  a  member 
of  the  special  commission  of  oyer  and  terminer  for 
Virginia,  which  was  to  settle  afifairs  in  the  colony 
after  Bacon's  Rebellion.*'  He  thus  rendered  distin- 
guished service,  and  received  honorable  recognition 

3**  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  ix,  188. 

3^  A  list  of  signatures  of  the  councillors  on  May  10,  1682,  is  extant,  and 
Wood's  name  is  not  among  them;  but  only  nine  names  appear.  Virginia 
Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  xviii,  249. 

^0  Hening,  W.  W.     Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  426. 

*'  "Records  of  Charles  City  Co.,"  June  4,  1655,  February  3,  1657,  in 
William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  iv,  167-168. 

*2  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  West  Indies,  1675/6, 
no.  1 1 34. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  41 

in  this,  as  in  all  other  lines  of  endeavor  characteristic 
of  the  colony  in  his  day. 

Nearly  every  prominent  Virginian  of  the  seven- 
teenth century  served  as  an  officer  in  the  colonial 
militia.  The  intimate  connection  between  land-hold- 
ing and  leadership  in  the  public  defense,  inherited 
from  sixteenth  century  England,  had  not  been  broken. 
A  commission  in  the  militia  meant,  not  only  title, 
uniform,  and  parade  duty  but  also  readiness  for 
prompt  active  service,  sudden  alarms,  toilsome 
marches  through  the  wild  country,  and  often  danger- 
ous fighting,  varied  with  garrison  duty  for  a  few,  and 
occasional  general  musters  against  actual  or  expected 
naval  attacks  from  overseas.''^ 

Abraham  Wood  is  first  mentioned  as  a  militia 
soldier  in  1646,  when  his  rank  was  that  of  captain. 
In  thirty-four  years  of  known  service  he  rose  succes- 
sively through  every  grade  to  the  ranking  position 
of  major-general,  in  which  his  military  authority  in 
the  colony  was,  for  at  least  a  decade,  inferior  to  that 
of  the  governor  only.  Just  when  he  entered  the 
militia  is  not  known,  but  he  is  listed  as  ''Mr."  in  the 
records  of  the  burgesses  until  the  session  of  October, 
1646,  so  it  is  probable  that  the  command  at  Fort 
Henry  in  the  spring  of  that  year  was  his  first  com- 
mission. By  1652  he  is  "Major"  Wood,  and  in  1655 
he  is  described  as  "Lieutenant-colonel."  In  Decem- 
ber of  the  following  year  he  received  his  promotion  to 
the  colonelcy  of  the  Charles  City  and  Henrico  regi- 

■'^  The  best  account  of  the  structure  and  services  of  the  Virginia  military 
establishment  is  in  Bruce's  Institutional  History  of  Virginia,  part  iv,  es- 
pecially chap,  ii,  on  the  character  and  function  of  the  officers. 


42  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

ment,  by  special  act  of  the  Burgesses  growing  out  of 
the  legislative  investigation  and  removal  of  Colonel 
Edward  Hill  for  misconduct  as  commander  in  the 
well-known  affair  at  the  forks  of  the  Pamunkey, 
where  the  Virginians  and  friendly  Pamunkeys  were 
so  badly  defeated  by  the  strange  Ricahecrian  Indians 
from  beyond  the  mountains.  Just  when  he  was  made 
one  of  the  major-generals  of  the  colony  does  not 
appear,  but  it  was  not  earlier  than  1663  nor  later 
than  1671." 

The  Charles  City  and  Henrico  regiment  had  more 
Indian  fighting  to  do  than  any  other  of  the  militia 
bodies,  owing  to  the  location  of  the  counties  in  ques- 
tion; and  Wood  must  have  gained  much  experience 
in  active  service.  This,  together  with  his  unrivaled 
knowledge  of  the  western  country  and  of  the  Indians, 
made  him  probably  the  most  trusted  and  valued  of 
the  militia  officers.  During  the  serious  Indian  trou- 
bles early  in  1676,  Berkeley  complained  to  the  home 
government  that  Wood  was  "kept  to  his  house  thro 
infirmity,"  and  that  certain  of  the  subordinate  officers 
were  either  dead  or  for  various  reasons  unavailable." 
The  unaccustomed  vacillation  and  inefficiency  of  the 
governor  in  this  crisis  may  have  been  due  in  great 
measure  to  the  absence  of  his  reliable  commanders. 
The  old  general's  health  seems  to  have  mended,  how- 
ever, for  in  the  Indian  alarm  of  1678  general  super- 
vision of  all  arrangements  for  defense  was  committed 

**Hening,  W.  W.  Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  299,  315,  322,  373,  426; 
Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  viii,  389;  JVilliam  and 
Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  ix,  27,  248;  post,  page  184. 

*5  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  West  Indies,  1675- 
1676,  no.  859. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  43 


to  "Major    [General?]   Abraham  Wood,"   and   all 
persons  were  warned  to  obey  him.'" 

Wood's  last  public  service,  so  far  as  known,  was 
the  conduct  of  negotiations  with  a  threatening  Indian 
war-confederacy  in  the  winter  of  1679- 1680.  Nich- 
olas Spencer  wrote  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  and  Plan- 
tations on  March  18,  1680,  that  "Colonel  Wood,  a 
person  well  skilled  in  all  Indian  affairs,"  had  been 
chosen  by  the  governor  and  council  to  try  to  effect  the 
desired  arrangement  with  the  hostiles. 

He  negotiated  the  same  with  jjreat  prudence  and  at  length 
arranged  that  the  chief  men  of  the  Indian  confederate  hostile 
towns  should  meet  at  Jamestown  on  the  lOth  of  this  month, 
to  be  heard  on  behalf  of  their  towns  and  to  answer  the 
charges  against  them.  They  received  every  assurance  of  safe 
protection  but  appeared  not,  whether  kept  back  by  the  knowl- 
edge of  their  guilt,  or  misapprehensions  of  our  sincerity  (for 
which  the  Christians  have  given  Init  too  good  reasons),  or 
perverted  by  the  clandestine  designs  of  some  Indian  traders, 
who  wished  to  upset  this  arrangement  of  Colonel  Wood  for 
their  own  ends,  I  cannot  guess.  I  incline  to  think  the  last 
is  the  true  reason.  .  .  When  we  consider  that  Captain 
Byrd  killed  seven  surrendered  Indians  and  took  away  their 
wives  and  children  prisoners,  on  the  mere  suspicion  that  they 
were  assassins  of  our  people,  we  can  hardly  wonder  at  the 
failure  of  the  treaty.*^ 

Because  of  the  lack  of  Wood's  letters  and  other 
papers,  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  satisfactory  ac- 
count of  his  activities  as  a  trader;  but  the  documents 

^"^  Bruce,  Philip  A.  Institutional  History  of  Virginia,  vol.  ii,  91  and 
footnote,  91-92   (from  Henrico  Co.  records). 

*^  It  is  barely  possible  that  the  Abraham  Wood  of  this  and  the  preced- 
ing Incident  may  have  been  a  son  of  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  as  the  title 
assigned  him  in  each  instance  would  indicate;  but  both  are  probable  mis- 
takes. Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  West  Indies,  1677- 
i68o,  no.   1326. 


44  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

printed  in  this  volume  display  the  character  and  ex- 
tent of  his  interest  in  the  Indian  trade.  The  early 
date  and  broad  sweep  of  his  explorations,  and  the 
large  sums  of  ready  money  expended  on  them;  *^  the 
many  incidents  in  the  documents  revealing  the  extent 
of  his  Indian  connections  and  influence;  the  favorable 
location  of  his  trading  post  and  the  growth  of  Peters- 
burg upon  its  site;  and  the  jealousy  of  other  traders, 
mentioned  in  his  letter  to  Richards  ■"*  and  in  Spencer's 
letter  just  quoted,  all  go  to  show  that  his  ventures  in 
this  traffic  must  have  been  the  most  extended  and 
among  the  most  successful  of  the  time.  From  the 
analogy  of  contemporaries  and  rivals,  like  William 
Byrd,  we  may  infer  that  he  was  also  a  local  mer- 
chant, but  there  is  no  direct  information  on  the  point. 
In  the  economic  society  of  that  day,  trade  was  the 
greatest  avenue  to  the  acquisition  of  ready  money,  snd 
Wood's  fortune,  was,  like  those  of  so  many  of  the  most 
prominent  Virginians  of  the  time,  doubtless  based 
largely  upon  it. 

Of  the  family  and  descendants  of  Abraham  Wood 
but  little  has  been  learned.  Whom  he  married  is  not 
known.  The  only  child  whose  existence  and  iden- 
tity are  certain  is  a  daughter,  Mary.^°  Like  her  fath- 
er's, her  career  was  typical  of  the  American  pioneer 
society.  Her  married  life  covered  not  less  than  fifty- 
nine  years,  counting  intervals  of  widowhood.  During 
this  time  she  had  three  husbands  and  probably  out- 

48  See  pages  210-211,  216. 

*^  See  page  225. 

5°  It  is  stated  in  the  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  xv,  234-235,  that 
Thomas  Wood  was  a  son  of  the  general,  but  no  ground  for  the  assertion  is 
given,  and  none  except  inference  can  be  found. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  45 


lived  the  last  of  them.''  Whether  it  was  Peter  Jones, 
her  last  husband,  or  one  of  his  descendants,  who 
robbed  Wood  of  his  rightful  fame  by  giving  a  name 
to  the  town  of  Petersburg,  is  a  subject  of  dispute,  and 
no  clear  proofs  are  offered  for  either  assertion." 
Nothing  further  concerning  Wood's  family  has  come 
to  light,  and  inasmuch  as  his  will  was  probably 
lost  in  the  destruction  of  the  Charles  City  records  " 
the  facts  may  never  be  fully  known. 

After  having  thus  learned  to  know  the  man  it  is 
time  to  turn  to  his  activities  as  an  explorer,  the  story 
of  which  is  so  largely  a  part  of  the  general  history  of 
the  westward  movement  of  his  era. 

The  governors  of  Virginia  had  occasionally  dis- 
played an  interest  in  westsvard  exploration,  and  in 
the  possibility  of  crossing  the  mountains,  long  before 
any  serious  plans  for  that  purpose  were  made.  Thus 
the  governor  and  council  wrote  to  the  Privy  Council 
on  May  17,  1626,  that  "discoveries  by  land  .  .  . 
are  of  great  hope  both  for  the  riches  of  the  mountains 
and  probabilities  of  finding  the  passage  to  the  South 

51  The  first  was  John  Bly,  whose  will  was  probated  in  London,  May  i6, 
1664.  No  children  are  mentioned.  {Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and 
Biography,  vol.  xiii,  57.)  The  second  was  Thomas  Chamberlayne,  who 
with  his  wife,  Mary,  recorded,  in  1686,  a  deed  conveying  to  certain  parties 
land  devised  to  them  by  Wood.  {Ibid.,  vol.  viii,  76.)  The  third  was  Peter 
Jones.  He  owned  the  estate  at  his  death  and  left  eight  children,  by  his 
wife  Mary.  Two  of  these  were  named  Abraham  and  Wood  respectively. 
This  Mary  may  have  been  a  granddaughter  of  Abraham  Wood.  (Will  of 
Peter  Jones,  in  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  284-288.  Genealogy,  William  and  Mary 
Quarterly,  vol.   xix,   287-292). 

5-  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  iv,  465-466 ;  IVil- 
liam  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  xv,  234-235.  The  origin  of  the  name 
"Petersburg"  in  compliment  to  any  of  the  Peter  Joneses  seems  indeed  as- 
sumed  rather  than   proved. 

53  Letter  of  W.  G.  Stanard,  March  12,  1908. 


46  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

Sea  .  .  y  and  desired  that  munitions  for  this 
and  other  purposes  be  furnished  by  the  home  gov- 
ernment.^* 

•^No  reflection  of  the  private  project  of  1641-1643  "^ 
has  been  found  in  the  governor's  correspondence;  but 
when  interest  in  exploration  revived  after  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  fall-line  posts,  the  executive  as  well 
as  private  parties  and  the  burgesses  gave  attention  to 
the  subject.  From  letters  which  reached  England 
from  Virginia  in  March,  1648,  w^e  learn  that  Indian 
rumors  had  already  come  to  Governor  Berkeley  con- 
cerning the  lands  beyond  the  mountains,  of  its  great 
river  systems,  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  of  the  red- 
capped  Spaniards,  riding  on  asses,  who  occasionally 
visited  its  shores.  Berkeley  was  reported  to  be  on  the 
point  of  leading  a  party  to  pass  the  mountains  and 
visit  this  country,  and  thus  open  the  trade  route  to 
Asia  for  which  the  earlier  explorers  had  so  vainly 
sought  -  a  project  which  he  kept  more  or  less  in  mind 
for  twenty  years  but  never  carried  out. 

An  unknown  writer's  words  bring  us  still  some- 
thing of  the  excitement  and  confident  expectation  felt 
by  the  people  of  that  day. 

And  the  Indians  have  of  late  acquainted  our  Governour, 
that  within  five  dayes  journey  to  the  westward  and  by  South, 
there  is  a  great  high  mountaine,  and  at  the  foot  thereof,  great 
Rivers  that  run  into  a  great  Sea ;  and  that  there  are  men  that 
come  hither  in  ships,  (but  not  the  same  as  ours  be)  they  weare 
apparell  and  have  reed  Caps  on  their  heads,  and  ride  on 
Beasts  like  our  Horses,  but  have  much  longer  eares  and  other 
circumstances  they  declare  for  the  certainty  of  these  things. 

That  Sir  William  was  here  upon  preparing  fifty  Horse 

^*  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  ii,  53. 
•'•'  See  page  28. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  47 

and  fifty  Foot,  to  go  and  discover  this  thing  himself  in  person, 
and  take  all  necdfull  provision  in  that  case  requisite  along 
with  him;  he  was  ready  to  go  when  these  last  ships  set  sail 
for  England  in  April  last:  and  we  hope  to  give  a  good  ac- 
compt  of  it  by  the  next  ships,  God  giving  a  blessing  to  the 
enterprize,  which  will  mightily  advance  and  enrich  this  Coun- 
try; for  it  must  needs  prove  a  passage  to  the  South  Sea  (as 
we  call  it)  and  also  some  part  of  China  and  the  East  Indies.*^'' 

In  a  similar  pamphlet  printed  the  next  year  we  hear 
of  pearls,  of  mines,  and  of  the  proximity  of  the  South 
Sea  beyond  the  mountains,  together  with  suggestions 
for  exploration.  Some  idea  of  the  Ohio-Mississippi 
waterway  was  now  taking  a  more  definite  shape,  for 
this  writer  states  that  of  the  great  rivers  heading  out 
from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  one,  as  yet  undiscov- 
ered, runs  along  all  the  back  of  Virginia,  southward 
toward  Florida.'"  It  is  to  be  observed  that  the  dis- 
tance which  separated  Virginia  from  these  alluring 
regions  was  even  then  conceived  as  far  smaller  than 
is  the  actual  fact.  Farrer  appended  to  his  map  of 
1651  the  opinion  that  "the  Sea  of  China  and  the  In- 
dies" could  be  reached  in  ten  days  overland  from  the 
head  of  James  River.^^ 

At  least  one  important  journey  into  the  western 
country  was  actually  made  during  these  years. ^^  On 
the  twenty-seventh  of  August,  1650,  a  little  party  filed 
out  from  Fort  Henry  and  directed  their  march  to- 
wards the  southwest.     These  first  adventurers  were 


58^  perfect  description  of  Virginia  (London,  1649);  also  in  Force, 
Peter,  Tracts  (Washington,  1836),  vol.  ii,  no.  8,  13-14- 

°^  Virginia  richly  and  truly  valued  (London,  1650)  ;  in  Force,  Peter, 
Tracts,  vol.  iii,  no.  n,  41-45. 

58  Farrer's  Map  of  Virginia,  1651,  in  Fiske,  Old  Virginia  and  her  neigh- 
bors, vol.  ii,  12. 

59  Sec  pages  109-130. 


i 


48  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

Edward  Bland,  an  English  merchant  settled  in 
Charles  City  County,  Captain  Abraham  Wood,  and 
two  gentlemen  of  the  colony,  Sackford  Brewster  and 
Elias  Pennant  by  name,  all  mounted,  together  with  a 
white  servant  of  each  of  the  first  two,  and  an  Appo- 
mattox Indian  guide,  on  foot.  The  Tuscarora  vil- 
lages seem  to  have  been  the  objective  point. 

The  Virginia  piedmont  across  which  their  journey 
took  them  is  a  rolling  or  hilly  country  sloping  gently 
to  the  east.  At  the  time  when  the  explorers  entered 
this  practically  unknown  land,  it  offered  a  pleasant 
v^ariety  of  forest  and  grass  lands,  intersected  by  nar- 
row meadow^  and  swamp  tracts  in  the  stream  ''bot- 
toms." Here,  as  almost  everywhere,  the  Indians  fol- 
low^ed  the  custom  of  burning  over  the  country  in  the 
fall,  so  that  the  level  uplands  and  long  gentle  slopes 
were  kept  as  open  grazing  country,  pasture  for  deer, 
elk,  and  buffalo.  The  poorer,  stonier,  and  steeper 
ground  was  covered  with  forests  of  deciduous  growth, 
and  the  bottoms,  w^here  not  cleared  by  the  Indians  for 
their  fields,  were  covered  with  a  practically  impene- 
trable tangle  of  well-nigh  tropical  luxuriance.  Food 
for  the  wild  things  was  plentiful,  so  that  game  was 
found  in  almost  inconceivable  plenty,  and  the  abun- 
dant watercourses  teemed  with  fish,  particularly- in 
the  rivers  and  larger  streams  -  the  huge  sturgeon. 
Even  today  the  country  abounds  in  wild  fruits  and 
flowers  as  do  few  other  regions,  and  berries  of  every 
sort  line  the  road-sides  and  fill  the  open  spaces  in  the 
woods  in  midsummer. 

It  was  with  feelings  of  admiration,  wonder,  and 
awe,   that  the  explorers  entered  this  region  which 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  49 

gave  such  hope  for  the  future,  and  with  keen  eyes 
they  marked  the  spots  for  plantations  and  cities,  that 
their  descendants  would  enjoy.  They  picked  up  an 
additional  guide  at  a  Nottaway  village  some  twenty 
miles  out,  on  the  first  day,  and  kept  on  in  a  southwest- 
wardly  direction  for  five  days.  They  crossed  the 
Blackwater,  Nottaway,  and  Meherrin  Rivers,  with 
several  of  their  tributaries,  and  on  the  fifth  day 
reached  the  falls  of  the  Roanoke,  where  the  Dan  and 
Staunton  unite  to  form  that  river,  at  the  present  site 
of  Clarksville,  Virginia,  close  to  the  North  Carolina 
line,  and  in  an  air  line  some  sixty-five  miles  from  their 
starting  point.  Bland  estimated  that  they  had  trav- 
eled one  hundred  and  twenty  miles;  and  making  al- 
lowances for  the  natural  exaggeration  of  distances 
traversed  in  the  wilderness,  and  for  the  deviations  in 
their  course,  this  was  not  a  surprising  over-estimation. 
He  was  also  under  the  erroneous  impression  that  they 
had  actually  come  to  a  westward-flowing  river,  and 
does  not  speak  of  the  country  thereabout  as  a  part  of 
Virginia,  but  as  an  entirely  separate  region  -  "New 
Brittaine." 

The  party  passed  through  numerous  Indian  vil- 
lages on  the  way,  where  they  were  not  very  hospitably 
received.  The  demeanor  of  the  natives  grew  more 
and  more  unfriendly  and  threatening  as  they  ad- 
vanced, and  several  attempts  were  made  to  frighten 
or  deceive  them.  Some  of  the  latter  met  with  success. 
A  runner,  who  was  dispatched  to  the  Tuscarora  chief 
and  to  an  Englishman  supposed  to  be  then  among 
the  Tuscaroras,  went  instead  to  give  the  alarm  to  a 
tribe  farther  down  the  river.     Fearing  the  plots  that 


50  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

seemed  to  be  forming  around  them,  they  contented 
themselves  with  examining  the  falls,  the  sturgeon 
fishing  place,  and  the  adjacent  country,  and  then 
turned  back,  regaining  Fort  Henry  in  four  days,  by  a 
slightly  different  route.  They  slept  on  their  arms 
and  set  a  watch  every  night  during  the  journey,  but 
met  with  no  harm  or  bloodshed. 

Bland  made  a  careful  and  apparently  accurate  note 
of  the  distances,  directions,  and  streams  crossed  every 
day,  and  in  addition  observed  and  recorded  the  topog- 
raphy and  soil  at  every  sub-stage  of  the  journey. 
Drainage,  timber,  and  vegetation  are  faithfully  de- 
scribed. Much  of  the  land  crossed  was  then  cham- 
paign country.  With  the  soil  about  the  Roanoke 
River  the  travelers  were  especially  delighted,  and 
they  even  persuaded  themselves  that  its  climate  was 
superior  to  that  of  settled  Virginia. 

The  narrative  makes  it  plain  that  the  region  cov- 
ered was  already  familiar  ground  to  the  Virginia 
traders.  Bland's  party  professed  to  come  to  trade, 
but  he  at  least  was  evidently  more  interested  in  land- 
looking;  and  his  praises  of  the  new  country  as  a  re- 
gion for  colonization,  and  especially  the  ardent  ex- 
hortation "To  The  Reader"  to  further  its  settlement,*'" 
and  the  quotation  from  Raleigh,"^  reveal  him  as  ante- 
dating William  Byrd  by  three  quarters  of  a  cen- 
tury as  the  original  "boomer"  of  this  "Eden."  On 
his  return  Bland  promptly  obtained  an  order  from 
the  Assembly  (October  20,  1650),  allowing  him  to 
explore  and  colonize  the  new  country,  provided  he 

^^  See  pages  iio-iii. 
*i  See  pages  112-113. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  51 

should  attempt  it  with  a  hundred  well-armed  men." 
His  book,  printed  in  London  the  following  year,  and 
affording  our  knowledge  of  the  expedition,  was  doubt- 
less published  with  a  view  to  aiding  in  the  assemblage 
of  this  force.  His  early  death,  about  1653,  probably 
prevented  the  execution  of  the  plan. 

Bland  and  his  party  told  the  Indians  that  they  were 
sent  out  by  the  governor  of  Virginia."^  Whether  this 
was  spoken  in  truth  or  merely  to  overawe  the  natives, 
Berkeley  seems  to  have  referred  the  question  of  fur- 
ther exploration  to  the  home  government  for  settle- 
ment, for  an  order  of  the  Council  of  State  of  Septem- 
ber 25,  165 1,  directed  "the  Committee  of  the  admir- 
alty to  consider  what  is  fit  to  be  done  concerning  the 
discovery  to  be  made  to  the  w^cst  of  the  falls  of  James 
River  in  Virginia  and  report  thereon."  ^* 

Whether  the  Admiralty  reported  does  not  appear, 
but  in  the  following  year  private  parties  were  actively 
interested,  and  received  encouragement  from  the  Vir- 
ginia Assembly.  In  November,  1652,  the  latter  body 
passed  an  order,  reciting  the  fact  of  the  grant  of 
1643  ""^  ^nd  of  its  subsequent  voidance,  and  giving  to 
William  Clayborne,  the  celebrated  parliamentary 
commissioner  and  enemy  of  Lord  Baltimore,  and 
Captain  Henry  Fleet,  a  gentleman  prominent  in  the 
colony,  a  monopoly  of  trade  for  the  usual  term  of 
fourteen  years,  and  first  choice  of  lands,  in  any  re- 
gions in  which  they  might  make  new  discoveries. 

®2  See  page  112. 
^3  See  page  117. 

^*  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  JVest  Indies,  1574- 
1660,  no.  360. 
^^  See  page  28. 


^2  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

"Major  Abraham  Wood  and  his  associates"  received 
separately  the  same  privileges.'"*  The  order  which 
Bland  had  secured  from  the  Assembly  in  1650  had 
named  him  specifically,  but  had  allow^ed  "any  other" 
the  same  license  to  prosecute  the  colonizing  enter- 
prise. Whether  Wood  was  instrumental  in  securing 
this  provision,  and  proposed  to  act  separately,  or 
whether  he  was  associated  with  Bland  in  1650,  and 
whether  Bland  was  among  Wood's  associates  in  1652, 
or  whether  he  had  already  passed  from  the  stage,  or 
whether,  again,  Wood  had  in  mind  a  different  ven- 
ture, cannot  be  determined.  It  is  a  likely  conjecture 
that  Wood  was  always  the  moving  spirit,  even  in  the 
expedition  of  1650,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
Bland  wrote  its  history  and  made  himself  the  most 
conspicuous  figure  in  it. 

More  tantalizing  still  is  the  order  of  the  Assembly 
of  July,  1653,  wherein  "diverse  gentlemen"  who  had 
"a  voluntarie  desire  to  discover  the  Mountains  and 
supplicated  for  lycence"  to  do  so  were  permitted  to 
go  on  their  quest,  provided  they  should  take  a  force 
strong  both  in  men  and  ammunition."  Who  these 
gentlemen  were,  or  whether  they  fulfilled  their  de- 
sire, cannot  be  found  in  the  records  now  known  to  be 
extant.  Could  we  find  out  their  names  and  fortunes 
the  most  baffling  problem  of  this  whole  period  of 
exploration,  namely.  Wood's  alleged  discoveries  of 
1654,  might  be  solved. 

Cropping  out  in  all  the  literature  of  Mississippi 
Valley  exploration,  from  the  eighteenth  century  to 
the  monographs  of  contemporary  scholars,  is  the  bare 

^^  See  page  102. 
*^  See  page  103. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  53 

statement,  now  calmly  presented  as  a  fact,  now  con- 
temptuously mentioned  as  a  lie,  that  in  the  year  1654, 
or  at  various  times  in  the  decade  following  that  year, 
Abraham  Wood  gained  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  or  of 
the  Mississippi,  or  of  both.  It  can  probably  never 
be  either  proved  or  disproved  with  absolute  certainty, 
but  long  and  patient  search  has  yielded  the  facts  about 
to  be  recited,  and  only  these.  They  are  trustworthy 
as  far  as  they  go,  and  in  spite  of  meagreness  appear  to 
warrant  the  statement  in  categorical  form  of  the  con- 
clusions drawn  from  them. 

Dr.  Daniel  Coxe,  whose  career  will  be  dealt  with 
later,*^  was  the  first  to  mention  the  episode.  His 
account  appears  in  a  memorial  to  King  William, 
presented  to  the  Board  of  Trade  Nov.  16,  1699,"^  and 
in  the  younger  Coxe's  book  Carolana.''°  Coxe  states 
that  at  several  times  during  the  decade  i6c;4-i664 
Wood  discovered  "several  branches  of  the  great  riv- 
ers Ohio  and  Meschacebe."  In  confirmation,  Coxe 
alleges  that  he  was  at  one  time  in  possession  of  a  jour- 
nal of  a  Mr.  Needham,  one  of  the  agents  Wood  em- 
ployed in  his  exploring  expeditions.  Now  Wood's 
men  did  discover  branches  of  the  Ohio  and  Missis- 
sippi, in  the  years  1671-1674;  and  the  Needham  re- 
ferred to  was  employed  in  the  most  brilliant  of  those 
discoveries.  Since  Coxe  states  incorrectly  both 
Wood's  title  and  place  of  residence,'^  it  is  most  prob- 
able that  his  information  about  the  date  was  also  in- 

^8  See  pages  229-232,  footnote  184. 

^^  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  West  Indies,  1699, 
na  967. 

^^  Coxe,  Daniel.     Carolana,  114,  120. 

^^  "Colonel  Wood  in  Virginia  inhabiting  at  the  Falls  of  James  river."  — 
Coxe,  Carolana,  120. 


^^  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

correct.  One  of  Coxe's  later  memorials  to  the  Board 
of  Trade,  which  constitutes  the  last  chapter  of  this 
volume,  omits  all  mention  of  the  episode. 

It  would  seem  that  subsequent  writers  have  simply 
followed  Coxe,  either  at  first  or  second  hand.  The 
earliest  and  most  often  cited  of  these,  the  authors  of 
the  State  of  the  British  and  French  Colonies  (i75S) 
and  of  the  Contest  in  America,  reproduced  Coxe's 
statements  with  fair  correctness,  attributing  to  Wood 
the  discovery  in  1654  of  certain  branches  only  of  the 
great  western  river  system.  Later  historians,  of  whom 
Parkman  and  Winsor  are  the  most  distinguished,  have 
usually  reproduced  the  story  so  as  to  make  it  appear  as 
if  Wood  or  his  agents  were  said  to  have  discovered 
the  Mississippi  itself.  The  whole  tone  of  the  Fallam 
journal '"  and  of  Wood's  letter  regarding  the  explor- 
ations of  1673-1674,"  and  especially  Wood's  refer- 
ences in  that  letter  to  the  discoveries  of  Batts  and 
Fallam  in  1671,'*  make  it  reasonably  certain  that 
Wood  had  not  been  on  the  western  waters  at  any  prior 
time." 

Dismissing,  therefore,  this  alleged  discovery  of  the 

■^2  See  pages  183-193. 

'2  See  pages  210-226. 

^*  See  page  210. 

''^  State  of  the  British  and  French  Colonies  (London,  1755),  reproduces 
Cowe  exactly.  [John  Mitchell],  The  Contest  in  America  (1757),  speaks  of 
"A  large  branch  of  the  Ohio,  called  Wfxid  River,  from  Colonel  Wood  of 
Virginia,  who  discovered  it  first  in  1654,  and  several  times  afterwards,  of 
which  an  authentic  account  is  to  be  seen  in  the  archives  of  the  royal  society, 
besides  the  accounts  we  have  of  that  discovery  from  our  historians."  The 
"authentic  account"  referred  to  is  that  of  the  Batts-Fallam  party  of  1671, 
sent  to  the  Royal  Society  by  Mr.  Clayton,  and  printed  hereinafter  with  an 
accompanying  commentary  by  Mitchell,  who  in  the  passage  quoted  means 
that  it  is  a  narrative,  not  of  the  supposed  journey  of  1654,  but  of  one  of  the 
"times  afterwards."     Mitchell  also  repeats  from  Coxe  the  stories  of  the  al- 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  55 

western  waters  in  1654  ^^  unproved  and  even  improb- 
able, let  us  return  to  the  course  of  events  concerning 
which  there  is  less  doubt.  About  the  year  1658  three 
gentlemen  of  the  colony,  Major  William  Lewis,  Mr. 
Anthony  Langston,  and  Major  William  Harris  ap- 
plied to  the  Assembly  for  a  commission  to  explore  the 
mountains  and  the  country  to  the  westward,  and  "to 
endeavour  the  finding  out  of  any  Commodities  that 
might  probably  tend  to  the  benefitt  of  this  Country." 
The  commission  was  granted,  both  for  their  encour- 
agement and  for  that  of  others  of  similar  public  spir- 
it; '*  but  the  sources  do  not  inform  us  of  the  result  of 
their  activities. 

leged  discover}'  of  the  Mississippi  by  parties  from  New  England  and  New 
Jersey  in  1672  and  1678  [see  pages  233,  243],  and  subsequent  writers  have 
sometimes  apparently  confused  these  with  the  exploits  attributed  to  Wood. 
Ramsey  [Annals  of  Tennessee,  37],  and  Martin  [Xort/i-Carolina,  vol.  i,  115], 
say  that  Wood  reached  the  Ohio  in  1654.  Adair  [American  Indians  (1775), 
308]  claims  that  Wood  was  the  first  discoverer  of  the  Mississippi,  1654- 
1664.  Thomas  Jeffeiys  [History  of  the  French  Dominions  in  America,  134], 
claims  the  first  discovery  of  the  Mississippi  for  Wood,  1654-1664.  On 
Jefferys's  map  [Winsor,  Mississippi  Basin,  421],  it  is  stated  that  Wood  went 
beyond  the  Mississippi  in  the  decade  mentioned.  Rafinesque  [Marshall, 
History  of  Kentucky,  37],  says  that  Kentucky  was  first  discovered  by  Colonel 
Wood  in  1654.  Parkman  [La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great  ffest, 
5]  repeats  the  story  that  Colonel  Wood  reached  a  branch  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi in  1654,  to  dismiss  it  as  unfounded.  Winsor  [Cartier  to  Frontc- 
nac,  183]  mentions  Coxe's  version  of  the  matter  but  does  not  credit  it.  In 
the  Mississippi  Basin  on  page  229,  he  states  it  as  a  fact  that  Colonel  Abra- 
ham Wood  led  an  expedition  up  the  Dan  River  and  through  the  Blue  Ridge 
to  the  New  River,  in  1744  [sic~\,  while  on  page  452  he  refers  to  the  un- 
supported narrative  of  adventures  of  Colonel  Wood  in  1654-1664  as  a  part 
of  the  English  scheme  to  push  their  claims  to  the  Mississippi  Basin  about 
1764.  There  is  no  evidence  other  than  Coxe  of  a  journey  by  Wood  in  1654. 
The  fact  that  Batts  and  Fallam  found  marked  trees  on  their  route  on  both 
slopes  of  the  mountains  in  1671  proves  that  other  white  men  had  preceded 
them,  but  not  that  Wood  was  the  man  or  the  date  1654;  on  the  contrary, 
had  the  marks  been  left  by  Wood,  his  agents  would  most  likely  have  recog- 
nized them  as  such. 
""  See  page  103. 


56  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

This  ended  the  period  of  preliminary  explorations 
into  the  territory  lying  between  the  falls  of  the  rivers 
and  the  mountains.  The  accounts  that  have  been 
preserved  for  us  are  meagre  enough,  but  from  them 
and  later  ones  it  is  evident  that  the  Virginia  traders 
had  become  fairly  familiar  with  the  back  country, 
and  that  trade  routes  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  re- 
gion were  regularly  followed.  Besides  this  opening 
of  the  trade,  land  speculators  had  begun  to  view  the 
country  and  were  planning  its  colonization,  although 
actual  settlement  had  not  yet  advanced  much  beyond 
the  fall  line. 

In  the  seventh  decade  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
western  exploration  received  an  impetus  that  was  to 
carry  it  to  a  successful  fulfillment  of  its  object,  the 
crossing  of  the  mountains.  This  impetus,  probably, 
did  not  originate  in  Virginia,  but  was  an  influence 
extending  hither  from  the  mother  country,  to  which 
it  is  necessary  to  turn  for  an  explanation  of  its  char- 
acter. In  1660,  the  period  of  the  English  Common- 
wealth was  definitively  brought  to  a  close  by  the 
crowning  of  King  Charles  11.  The  contrast  of  the 
gaiety  and  gorgeousness  of  his  court  with  the  sombre 
hues  of  its  predecessor  has  always  exercised  an  influ- 
ence on  the  imagination  to  such  an  extent  that  we  are 
prone  to  forget,  in  describing  the  contrast,  that  the 
age  of  the  Restoration  is  one  of  tremendous  expansion 
in  all  lines  of  human  endeavor.  The  court  of  Charles 
II  was  not  the  breeder  of  mistresses  and  poor  poets 
only,  but  it  swarmed  with  explorers,  adventurers, 
promoters  of  financial  schemes,  and  speculators  of 
every  variety.     The  modern  business  world  seemed 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  57 

to  have  jumped  full  grown  from  the  head  of  Brit- 
annia. The  court  became  fully  alive  to  the  necessity 
of  fostering  these  new  enterprises  and  at  the  same  time 
keeping  them  under  control.  For  that  purpose,  a 
special  board  was  appointed,  whose  duties  were  later 
placed  in  the  hands  of  a  committee  of  the  Privy 
Council.'^  The  merchants  were  not  the  only  ones  in- 
terested in  this  new  business  expansion,  but  found 
eager  supporters  among  the  nobles  and  even  in  the 
king  himself.  Profits  seemed  to  become  the  lodestone 
of  the  generation. 

Certain  men,  in  the  inner  circle  of  public  life, 
placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  the  undertakings 
which  promised  the  largest  returns.  The  names  of 
Lords  Ashley  (later  Shaftesbury),  Albemarle,  Clar- 
endon, Arlington,  Berkeley,  and  Craven,  and  Sir 
George  Carteret,  appear  in  various  groupings  on  all 
the  important  charters  or  as  engaged  in  some  manner 
in  the  various  enterprises. 

It  was  the  Duke  of  York  with  his  personal  friends, 
Clarendon,  Carteret,  and  Berkeley  who  originated 
the  movement  to  seize  New  Amsterdam,  in  1664, 
from  the  Dutch.  A  short  time  afterwards,  the  first 
cargo  of  furs  arrived  in  the  Thames  from  that  region, 
and  London  merchants  began  to  catch  a  glimpse  of 
the  wealth  to  be  derived  from  this  traffic.  Their 
interest  in  a  business,  somew^hat  new  to  them,  was 
heightened  by  the  arrival  of  M.  des  Grosseilliers, 
bearing  a  letter  of  introduction  from  the  British  am- 
bassador at  Paris,  Lord  Arlington,  to  Prince  Rupert. 
There  was  no  man  better  able  to  impart  information 

^"  Andrews,  Charles.     Colonial  self-government,  22  et  seg. 


^8  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

concerning  the  profits  of  the  American  fur-trade  than 
Grosseilliers.  He  had  been  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful fur-traders  of  Canada  for  years,  and  his  business 
had  led  him  as  far  west  as  the  present  site  of  Wiscon- 
sin and  north  to  Hudson's  Bay.  Angered  at  his  treat- 
ment in  Canada  and  France  he  came  to  seek  his  for- 
tune in  England  and  was  immediately  received  as 
adviser  by  some  of  the  members  of  the  inner  circle 
of  politicians.  In  1668,  Grosseilliers  was  provided 
with  a  ship  on  which  he  set  sail  to  Hudson's  Bay.  The 
day  of  his  return  was  one  of  triumph  for  he  brought 
with  him  a  rich  cargo  of  furs. 

Practically  a  new  business  was  thus  introduced  into 
England.  The  firms  in  London  and  Bristol,  which 
had  cured  and  dealt  in  furs  up  to  this  time,  were  not 
comparable,  in  the  quality  or  quantity  of  their  output, 
to  the  great  houses  of  Leipsic,  Amsterdam,  Paris,  and 
Vienna,  to  which  even  the  English  noblemen  and 
wealthy  merchants  resorted  for  their  fur-trimmed 
costumes;  but  there  was  now  started  an  enterprise 
which  turned  the  course  of  trade  and  made  London 
the  centre  of  the  market  for  furs.  The  English  world 
was  thoroughly  awakened  to  the  possibilities,  and  it 
is  probable  that  the  necessary  rivalry  with  France 
added  zest  to  the  adventure.  Some  lines  of  poetry, 
written  in  1672  and  attributed  to  Dryden,  express 
the  popular  craze. 

Friend,  once  'twas  Fame  that  led  thee  forth 
To  brave  the  Tropic  Heat,  the  Frozen  North, 
Late  it  was  Gold,  then  Beaut}'  was  the  Spur; 
But  now  our  Gallants  venture  but  for  Furs.'^^ 

''^  Quoted  in  Willson,  The  Great  Company,  1667-1871,  vol.  i,  61.  For 
the  whole  discussion  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  rise  of  the  fur 
trade,  consult  the  s^me. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  59 

The  immediate  outcome  of  Grosseilliers's  success 
was  the  formation  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
among  the  members  of  which  were  Prince  Rupert, 
the  Duke  of  Albemarle,  Earl  Craven,  Lords  Arling- 
ton and  Ashley.  It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  further 
the  history  of  this  long-lived  company,  which  down 
to  the  present  time  has  exercised  a  very  great  influence 
on  the  imperial  politics  of  Great  Britain.  For  the 
present  purposes,  sufficient  has  been  said  to  explain 
the  influences  out  of  which  the  company  grew  and 
to  know  the  interests  of  the  society  in  which  lived  the 
men  who  were  instrumental  in  imparting  a  new  im- 
petus to  western  exploration  in  Virginia. 

The  English  always  had  in  view  other  interests  be- 
sides trade  in  the  founding  of  colonies,  and  the  main 
motive  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  in  securing  a  charter 
to  Carolina  in  1663  appears  to  have  been  the  profits 
accruing  from  the  exploitation  of  land,  as  is  shown  by 
their  advertisements.^^  It  is  not  surprising  to  find  that 
the  proprietors  belonged  to  the  same  group  of  politi- 
cians who  were  interested  in  New  York  and  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.^"  Their  representative  in 
America  was  Sir  William  Berkeley,  the  Governor  of 
Virginia,  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  inauguration  of 
the  new  government.*^ 

With  the  development  of  the  interest  in  the  fur- 

^°  See  various  pamphlets  printed  in  Salley's  Narratives  of  Early  Carolina, 
1650- 1708,  in  Original  Narratives  of  Early  American  History. 

8*^  Of  the  eight  original  proprietors  three  were  promoters  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  namely  Lords  Albemarle,  Craven,  and  Ashley,  and  two  were 
relatives  of  such  promoters.  Sir  Peter  Colleton  and  Sir  Philip  Carteret.  The 
other  three,  the  Earl  of  Clarendon,  Lord  Berkeley,  and  Sir  William  Berke- 
ley were  close  political  associates. 

^1  Chalmers,  Political  Annals  of  the  United  Colonies,  partially  reprinted 
in  Carroll's  Collections  of  South  Carolina,  vol.  ii,  283. 


6o  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

trade,  shortly  after  the  founding  of  the  colony,  the 
thought  was  very  natural  that  by  crossing  the  moun- 
tains to  the  West,  an  entrance  could  be  gained  to  the 
territory  which  the  French  fur-traders  were  exploit- 
ing. There  were,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  three  points 
of  departure  that  were  under  the  influence  of  the 
same  group  of  politicians,  namely  Hudson's  Bay, 
New  York,  and  the  South  (Virginia  and  Carolina)  ; 
and  within  a  short  time,  there  were  made  most  earnest 
efiforts  from  all  three  points  to  secure  the  monopoly 
of  the  trade  from  the  French,  in  spite  of  the  king's 
well-known  predilection  for  that  nation. 

The  profits  of  the  fur-trade  were  not  the  only  al- 
lurement to  these  western  expeditions.  It  was  not  to 
be  expected,  when  such  men  as  Frontenac  and  La 
Salle,  with  their  more  complete  knowledge  of  the 
water  systems  of  the  interior  valley,  were  still  dream- 
ing of  the  discovery  of  a  short  waterway  across  Amer- 
ica to  the  rich  commerce  of  Asia,  that  those  whose 
information  was  still  very  meagre,  confined,  as  it  was 
for  the  most  part,  by  the  great  mountain  belt  imme- 
diately to  the  westward,  should  not  also  nurse  the 
hope  that  they  possessed  the  key  to  this  great  com- 
munication across  the  continent  and  should  place 
more  emphasis  in  the  first  instance  on  this  phase  of 
their  undertaking,  as  being  the  one  most  likely  to  spur 
the  imagination.  It  is  to  be  noticed  also  that  another 
attraction,  as  old  as  the  hope  of  the  discovery  of  a 
water  communication  with  Asia,  namely,  the  finding 
of  mines  of  the  precious  metals  comparable  to  those 
in  the  possession  of  the  Spaniards,  was  still  an  active 
spur  to  action.     Thus  the  lure  that  attracted  men 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  6i 

westward  was  triple-headed:  Asiatic  commerce, 
mines  of  gold  and  silver,  and  the  fur-trade.  All 
these  furnished  the  impetus  to  the  Virginians  to  un- 
dertake discovery,  just  as  they  all  were  spurs  to  the 
French  at  the  north;  but  in  the  end,  the  last  was  the 
permanent  impulse  and  has  remained,  even  till  our 
own  day,  the  guide  to  westward  advance. 

Although  direct  proof  of  any  instructions  being  sent 
by  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  Carolina  to  Sir  William 
Berkeley  of  Virginia  is  lacking,  no  explanation  of  the 
renewed  interest  in  western  exploration  is  adequate, 
except  to  connect  it  with  this  outburst  of  Eng- 
lish enthusiasm  for  western  enterprises.  Carolina 
itself  was  not  sufficiently  developed  to  ofifer  a  base 
from  which  such  expeditions  could  start,  whereas  in 
Virginia,  the  frontier  posts  had  already  become  the 
centers  of  Indian  trade  and  around  them  were  col- 
lected the  first  group  of  American  pioneers,  trained 
from  childhood  to  endure  the  hardships  of  such  en- 
terprises. Furthermore  Governor  Berkeley,  the 
American  agent  of  the  interested  noblemen,  had  in 
Abraham  Wood,  the  man  best  fitted  to  organize  and 
carry  to  completion  the  work. 

The  date  when  this  new  impetus  was  felt  in  Vir- 
ginia is  known.  In  the  spring  of  1668,  Governor 
Berkeley  began  preparing  a  great  expedition  "to  find 
out  the  East  India  sea,"  as  he  writes  to  Lord  Arling- 
ton, who,  as  has  been  seen,  had  just  sent  Grosseilliers 
with  that  letter  of  introduction  to  Prince  Rupert, 
which  ended  in  the  formation  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  Berkeley  declared  that  two  hundred  gen- 
tlemen of  the  colony  had  engaged  to  accompany  him 


62  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


and  he  expressed  the  hope  of  finding  silver  mines  on 
the  way,  "for  certaine  it  is  that  the  Spaniard  in  the 
same  degrees  of  latitude  has  found  many."  "'  Heavy 
rains  checked  the  undertaking,  and  the  memory  of 
what  befell  Raleigh  for  his  unauthorized  adventure 
on  the  Oronoco  caused  him  to  defer  the  expedition 
until  a  royal  commission  could  be  secured.  If  this 
should  be  granted,  he  promised  to  make  the  journey, 
in  the  spring  of  1670,  in  sufficient  force  to  overcome 
"all  opposition  whether  of  the  Spaniards  or  In- 
dians." *^  It  is  probable  that  the  politicians  support- 
ing Berkeley  could  not  obtain  the  royal  mandate,  for 
King  Charles  in  the  year  after  this  letter  was  written 
entered  into  the  secret  treaty  of  Dover  with  Louis 
XIV,  which  is  certainly  sufficient  explanation  of  the 
fact  that  the  subsequent  explorations  were  undertaken 
without  the  royal  patronage.  Governor  Berkeley 
never  made  the  projected  trip  in  person;  but  he  did, 
in  the  year  mentioned,  dispatch  agents,  who  failed, 
however,  to  cross  the  Blue  Ridge. 

Before  the  governor  entrusted  the  great  undertak- 
ing to  the  hands  of  Abraham  Wood,  an  opportunity 
to  prosecute  the  work  of  discovery  was  offered  him 
by  the  presence  in  the  colony  of  a  German  physician, 
John  Lederer  by  name,  who  possessed  a  bent  for 
travel  in  strange  lands.  Of  the  man's  origin  and 
early  career,  there  is  no  certain  knowledge.  He  re- 
mained in  Virginia  a  year  and  a  half  and  probably 
longer,  and  during  that  time  made  three  attempts  to 
penetrate  the  wilderness,  but  did  no  better  than  to 

*2  The  letter  printed  post,  pages  175-176,  is  dated  May  27,  1669. 
^3  It   is  to  be  noticed   that  Berkeley   thought   at  this  time   only  of   the 
Spaniards  and  not  of  the  French. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  63 

traverse  the  piedmont  and  on  two  occasions  to  gain 
the  summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Shortly  after  return- 
ing from  his  last  trip  he  was  compelled  to  leave  Vir- 
ginia in  some  haste.  Lederer  alleged  that  the  cause 
of  his  flight  from  Virginia  was  popular  anger  at  the 
large  subsidies  devoted  by  the  governor  to  his  ex- 
peditions, but  the  truth  of  this  is  not  certain."'  He 
went  to  Maryland,  and  there  made  friends,  one  of 
whom,  Sir  William  Talbot,  prepared  from  Lcderer's 
oral  narratives  and  Latin  memoranda  of  his  travels  a 
little  book,  which  was  dedicated  to  Lord  Ashley. 
This  was  published  in  London  in  1672  and  is  reprint- 
ed as  the  third  chapter  of  the  present  volume. 

Lederer  may  be  characterized  as  the  Hennepin,  or 
better  as  the  Lahontan  of  English  exploration.  His 
story  contains  a  good  many  obvious  untruths,  and  in 
the  matter  of  his  alleged  journey  into  the  Carolinas  - 
the  latter  part  of  his  second  expedition  -  he  undoubt- 
edly made  a  deliberate  but  clumsy  attempt  to  deceive. 
In  general  the  criticism  of  his  veracity  should  not  be 
too  severe,  for  most  of  his  striking  untruths  in  mat- 
ters of  detail  were  not  lies,  but  the  misconceptions  of 
a  European,  new  to  the  country,  or  merely  the  harm- 
less exaggerations  natural  to  a  certain  type  of  mind.*^ 

^■*  The  records  of  Surrj'  County  for  1673  contain  an  item  to  the  effect 
that  Dr.  Lederer's  estate  was  attached  for  debt  [Clayton-Torrence,  Wm. 
Bibliography  of  Colonial  Virginia,  81].  This  was  two  years  after  his  flight 
to  Maryland,  and  is  susceptible  of  several  explanations,  but  in  view  of 
Lederer's  doubtful  reputation  for  veracit>'  it  at  least  throws  suspicion  upon 
his  account  of  the  reasons  for  his  departure. 

^^  In  the  former  class  fall  his  famous  yarn  about  seeing  the  Atlantic  from 
the  summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  his  mention  of  the  existence  in  the  Virginia 
underbrush  of  leopards  and  lions,  but  "neither  so  large  nor  so  fierce  as  those 
of  Asia  and  Africa,"  his  accounts  of  absolute  monarchy  among  certain 
Indians,  and  of  the  great  stores  of  pearl  found  in  their  village  \J>ost,  pages 


64  Trans-Allegheny  Region  

Hence  while  it  is  true  that  his  unsupported  word  is 
open  to  a  certain  suspicion,  it  is  believed  that  no  ma- 
terial risk  of  inaccuracy  is  incurred  in  accepting  his 
narrative  where  there  is  no  external  or  internal  evi- 
dence of  its  improbability. 

Lederer  started  on  his  first  expedition,  March  9, 
1669,  from  the  Chickahominy  Indian  village  at  the 
falls  of  the  Pamunkey,  accompanied  only  by  three 
Indians.  He  pursued  his  way  up  the  river,  and 
passed  its  head  springs  on  the  thirteenth.  On  the  next 
day  he  gained  from  a  hilltop  his  first  distant  view  of 
the  Blue  Ridge,  lying  like  a  low  cloud  on  the  horizon, 
before  which  his  Indian  guides  prostrated  themselves 
in  reverence  to  the  mountain  spirits.  The  day  fol- 
lowing he  crossed  the  Rapidan.  He  was  now  travers- 
ing the  western  edge  of  the  piedmont,  a  land  of  sun- 
shine and  clear  rushing  streams,  nestling  securely 
under  the  southeast  flank  of  the  blue  mountain  wall. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  March,  after  nine  days  of 
travel,  the  little  party  were  under  the  face  of  the 
mountains,  probably  in  Madison  County.  Lederer 
found  the  slopes  and  approaches  densely  set  with 
hardwood  timber,  which  ofifered  as  great  an  obstacle 
to  the  traveler  as  did  the  height  and  steepness  of  the 
ranges.  He  was  the  first  white  man  to  view  the  beauty 
of  this  region  and  on  his  several  trips  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  learn  how  nature  here  presents  an  ever 
changing  scene.  Here  the  blues  of  the  mountain 
barrier,  varying  from  amethyst  or  deep  purple  to  sky- 

141,  147-148,  153].  Many  of  these  will  be  explained  in  the  notes.  Of  the 
second  sort  are  his  frequent  remarks  on  the  vast  number  of  wild  animals  of 
various  sorts  encountered,  and  on  the  magnitude  and  steepness  of  the  moun- 
tains. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  65 

blue  or  pale  mist-like  gray,  and  the  gorgeous  sunsets, 
are  to  be  seen  at  all  seasons.  In  spring,  the  hollows 
and  the  moist,  open  spaces  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains flame  with  the  blossoms  of  the  Judas  tree  or  red- 
bud;  in  fall  the  foliage  shows  a  brilliancy  and  har- 
mony of  color  unmatched  outside  the  Appalachian 
region.  Wherever  fire  or  axe  or  thinness  of  soil  have 
given  it  light  and  room  the  mountain  laurel  grows. 
In  May  it  blooms  in  the  lower  woods  and  on  the 
rough  little  foothills  irregularly  dotting  the  western 
edge  of  the  piedmont.  In  June  the  main  ranges  show 
mile  after  mile  of  blossom;  in  the  cool  stream-notch- 
es and  north-side  hollows  of  the  higher  slopes  and 
summits,  the  laurel  is  joined  by  its  larger  and  hand- 
somer cousin,  the  rhododendron,  pink  and  white;  and., 
there  one  finds  midsummer  yet  gay  with  bloom.  ' 
Lederer  required  a  full  day  to  ascend  the  moun- 
tain. The  horses  were  left  at  the  foot,  but  even  to 
man,  the  dense  underbrush  offered  almost  insuperable 
obstacles.  At  last  he  reached  the  summit,  which  was 
probably  here  as  elsewhere  a  range  about  a  mile  wide, 
so  wind-swept  by  the  winter  blast  as  to  be  only  par- 
tially timbered.  His  eyes  naturally  sought  first  of 
all  the  west,  but  here  was  only  disappointment  for  the 
view  was  cut  ofif  by  higher  ridges,  a  sight  that  was  to 
prove  so  discouraging  to  the  Virginia  explorers,  who 
felt  that  there  was  no  end  to  the  mountains.  When 
he  turned  away  from  this  hopeless  scene,  his  eyes 
ranged  over  the  piedmont  which  he  had  crossed. 
It  looked  almost  level  and  faded  away  into  an  hori- 
zon, so  delusive  that,  on  a  misty  morning,  many  a  later 
visitor  has  claimed,  as  did  Lederer,  that  he  ''had  a 


66  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


beautiful  prospect  of  the  Atlantic  washing  the  Virgin- 
ian-shore." The  doctor's  first  journey  ended  on  the 
summit  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  After  wandering  about 
in  the  snow  for  six  days,  vainly  trying  to  find  a  pass, 
the  cold  proved  unendurable,  and  he  descended  and 
retraced  his  path  homeward. 

Whether  Governor  Berkeley  dispatched  Lederer 
on  his  first  and  third  journeys,  the  latter  does  not  ex- 
plicitly state.  The  second  expedition,  however,  was 
certainly  fathered  by  the  governor;  and  for  our 
knowledge  of  the  first  part  of  it,  we  are  not  dependent 
solely  on  Lederer,  but  have  also  a  letter  of  the  gov- 
ernor's secretary,  Ludwell,  to  the  home  government, 
in  which  the  results  of  the  expedition  are  briefly  re- 
ported.^*" Ludwell  does  not  give  any  names,  but  the 
correspondence  of  dates  and  details  is  so  close  as  to 
leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  the  parties.  Led- 
erer was  accompanied  by  Major  Harris,  the  same 
who  had  a  dozen  years  previously  manifested  a  desire 
to  explore  the  mountains,"  and  who  seems  now  to 
have  been  in  command,  of  "twenty  Christian  horse 
and  five  Indians." 

The  party  set  out  from  the  falls  of  the  James  (the 
site  of  Richmond)  on  the  twenty-second  of  May, 
1670.*^  On  the  third  day,  they  passed  through  the 
Manakin  village  on  the  James,  only  twenty  miles 
above  the  falls,  and  paying  no  attention  to  the  advice 
of  the  Indians  as  to  trails,  struck  out  due  west  by 
compass.     They  soon  found  it  very  bad  going,  and 

^^  See  pages  177-178. 
^^  See  page  103. 

88  Lederer  says  May  20,  but  Ludwell,  writing  three  weeks  after  the 
return  of  the  main  body,  is  more  likely  to  be  correct. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  67 

wore  out  man  and  horse  in  trying  to  hold  a  straight 
course  over  the  rough  and  rocky  hills  south  of  James 
River.  After  four  or  five  days  of  this  kind  of  travel 
they  struck  the  James  again,  in  Buckingham  County, 
probably  near  the  Appomattox  County  line.^^ 

The  river  here  they  found  to  run  nearly  due  north 
and  to  be  as  wide  as  it  is  a  hundred  miles  lower  down, 
rocky,  and  very  swift.  Harris  did  not  recognize  it  as 
the  James.  About  ten  miles  distant  beyond  the  river 
they  made  out  the  ragged  outlines  of  the  foothills 
that  form  one  fragment  of  the  broken  chain  which 
geologists  style  "the  Atlantic  coast  range,"  and  of 
which  the  well  known  "Monticello"  is  a  more  north- 
erly link.  Their  characteristic  morning  mists  seemed 
to  augur  the  proximity  of  the  western  waters;  but 
Harris,  completely  discouraged  by  the  difficulties  of 
the  country  and  considering  the  river  impassable, 
turned  homeward.  After  some  unpleasantness,  Led- 
erer  claims  to  have  produced  a  commission  from  the 
governor  authorizing  him  to  proceed  by  himself ;  and 
he  struck  off  southward  accompanied  by  a  single  Sus- 
quehannock  guide.^'' 

On  the  fifth  day  after  he  separated  from  Harris,  he 
came  to  the  village  of  the  Sapony  Indians,  on  a 
branch  of  the  Staunton  River  in  Campbell  County, 
Virginia.  Here  he  was  hospitably  received  and  di- 
rected on  his  way.  Three  days  of  easy  travel  carried 
him  fifty  miles  southwest  to  the  village  of  the  Occa- 
neechi,  then  located  according  to  his  map  and  de- 

^^  June  3,  Lederer  states. 

^'^  According  to  Lederer  this  was  on  June  5.  Ludwell  says  that  the  expe- 
dition was  twelve  days  advancing  and  six  returning,  which  would  make  the 
date  June  2.     He  does  not  mention  any  division  of  the  part}'. 


68  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

scription  on  an  island  in  the  Dan  River.  These  In- 
dians, the  fiercest  and  most  treacherous  of  the  Siouan 
tribes  of  the  Virginia  piedmont,  bore  out  their  repu- 
tation for  bloodthirstiness  by  treacherously  murder- 
ing six  strange  mountain  Indians  who  had  come  to 
treat  with  them,  the  second  night  that  Lederer  was 
there.  Frightened,  he  slipped  away  and  pursued  his 
course  southwest.  He  visited  successively  the  Eno 
Indians,  the  Shakori,  and  the  Wataree,  and  came,  on 
June  21,  to  the  village  of  the  Saura,  then  apparently 
located  on  a  northern  affluent  of  the  Yadkin  and  by 
Lederer's  computation  seventy-four  miles  southwest 
of  the  Occaneechi  village  on  the  Dan. 

So  far  Lederer's  narrative  bears  evidences  of  truth. 
It  may  be  that  he  obtained  from  Virginia  Indians 
some  of  the  information  regarding  the  country  and 
natives  described ;  but  it  is,  so  far  as  it  can  be  checked, 
correct.  After  he  left  the  Saura  village,  no  certainty 
can  be  evolved  from  the  mass  of  palpable  falsehood. 
Some  names  can  be  recognized  as  those  of  tribes 
residing  in  the  South  Carolina  piedmont;  but  Led- 
erer could  never  have  visited  them,  for  his  narra- 
tive is  full  of  many  fantastic  tales  about  them  and 
their  country.  Space  does  not  permit  the  recounting 
and  critical  examination  of  the  story  of  his  expe- 
riences from  this  point  until  his  arrival  at  the  Appo- 
mattox village  across  from  Fort*Henry  on  the  seven- 
teenth of  July.  It  makes  pleasant  reading:  Silver 
tomahawks,  Amazonian  Indian  women,  peacocks, 
lakes  "ten  leagues  broad,"  and  barren  sandy  deserts 
two  weeks'  journey  in  width,  when  located  in  the 
Carolina  piedmont  sound  like  the  tales  of  Baron 
Miinchhausen. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  JVaters  69 

Lederer  was  to  make  yet  another  attempt  to  find  a 
way  across  the  mountain  barrier,  this  time  in  com- 
pany with  a  certain  Colonel  Catlett,  nine  mounted 
colonists,  and  five  Indians.  They  left  the  falls  of  the 
Rappahannock,  near  the  present  town  of  Fredericks- 
burg, on  August  20,  1670,  and  following  the  north 
fork  of  that  stream,  reached  the  Blue  Ridge  on  Au- 
gust 26,  probably  about  the  border  line  between 
Rappahannock  and  Fauquier  Counties.  Leaving 
their  horses  with  some  of  the  Indians,  they  ascended 
the  ridge  on  foot.  From  the  summit  they  beheld  the 
Great  North  Mountain  discouragingly  far  away 
across  the  Shenandoah  Valley  to  the  northwest.  They 
were  so  tired  by  the  climb  and  chilled  by  the  change 
in  temperature  on  the  mountain  top  that  they  con- 
tented themselves  with  drinking  the  King's  health  in 
brandy  and  then  made  their  way  down  the  mountain 
and  homeward. 

The  beginning  and  closing  pages  of  Talbot's  book 
are  filled  with  Lederer's  notes  on  the  geography  of 
the  Atlantic  slope,  on  Indian  customs,  and  with  ad- 
vice to  travelers  and  traders  in  the  wilderness.  The 
information  seems  to  be  remarkably  correct  and  valu- 
able and  the  advice,  for  the  time,  judicious.  The 
German  doctor  departed  sometimes  from  the  w^ays  of 
truth,  but  he  contributed  much  to  the  exploration  of 
the  piedmont  and  was  the  first  white  man  on  record 
to  look  into  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  He  gave  occa- 
sion, moreover,  for  the  production  of  a  book  of  great 
historical  and  ethnological  value. 

If  Governor  Berkeley  was  responsible  for  Leder- 
er's three  expeditions,  and  he  probably  was,  his  per- 
sistency in  following  up  the  results  makes  him  the 


yo  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

equal,  if  not  the  superior  of  the  contemporary  French 
governors.  The  plan  to  send  out  a  party  equipped 
to  pass  the  river  which  had  stopped  Harris  and  Led- 
erer,  of  which  mention  was  made  in  Ludwell's  letter, 
may  have  resulted  only  in  the  last  expedition  of  the 
German  explorer;  but,  the  next  summer,  other  plans 
w^ere  being  formulated.  Lord  Arlington  was  in- 
formed in  June,  that  "the  heats  of  summer  are  now 
too  farr  advanced  for  a  journey  to  the  Mountaines  but 
after  a  pawse  upon  what  is  allready  doun  and  we 
have  taken  breath  I  doubt  not  but  that  we  shall  goe 
further  in  the  discovry."  *  The  belief  was  to  be 
justified,  and  Englishmen  were  soon  to  drink  of  the 
western  waters. 

*  This  new  effort  to  "goe  further"  was  made  under 
the  auspices  of  Abraham  Wood.  On  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember, 1671,  there  filed  out  from  the  Appomattox 
Indian  village  across  the  river  from  Fort  Henry  a 
little  party  which  was  to  make  the  first  recorded  pas- 
sage of  the  Appalachian  mountains  and  thus  to  lay  a 
foundation  for  England's  claim  to  the  waters  that  seek 
the  gulf.  It  consisted  of  Captain  Thomas  Batts,  a  suc- 
cessful colonist  of  good  English  family,  and  two  other 
gentlemen,  Thomas  Wood,  perhaps  a  kinsman  of 
Abraham  Wood,  and  Robert  Fallam.  They  were  ac- 
companied by  a  former  indentured  servant  and  Pere- 
cute,  an  Appomattox  chief,  whose  faithfulness  and 
iron  courage  should  have  preserved  his  name.  Robert 
Fallam  kept  the  journal  of  the  expedition,  a  brief 
document,  but  containing  notes  of  the  essential  facts 
from  day  to  day,  so  that  this  is  the  easiest  of  all  the 

*  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  xx,  no.  i,  19. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  71 

westward  journeys  to  trace  accurately.  Several  copies 
of  the  journal  were  made  and  transmitted  to  England 
by  different  persons,  and  what  is  probably  the  most 
accurate  of  them  is  reprinted  in  the  fifth  chapter  of 
this  volume.  The  three  gentlemen  bore  a  commission 
from  Major-general  Wood  "for  the  finding  out  the 
ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  Waters  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Mountains  in  order  to  the  discovery  of  the  South 
Sea." 

They  struck  off  due  west  along  a  trail  that  was  evi- 
dently already  familiar,  and  having  five  horses  made 
rapid  progress.  On  the  fourth  day  they  reached  the 
Sapony  villages,  one  of  which  Lederer  had  visited  the 
year  before.  They  were  "very  joyfully  and  kindly 
received  with  firing  of  guns  and  plenty  of  provisions." 
They  picked  up  a  Sapony  guide  to  show  them  to  the 
Totero  village  by  "a  nearer  way  than  usual,"  and 
were  about  to  leave  when  overtaken  by  a  reinforce- 
ment of  seven  Appomattox  Indians  sent  them  by 
Wood.  They  sent  back  Mr.  Thomas  Wood's  worn 
out  horse  by  a  Portuguese  servant  of  General  Wood's 
whom  they  had  found  in  the  village,  and  pushed  on 
to  the  Hanahaskie  "town,"  some  twent>^-five  miles 
west  by  north,  on  an  island  in  the  Staunton  River. 
Here  Mr.  Thomas  Wood  was  left,  dangerously  ill. 

The  rest  of  the  party  kept  on  westward,  and  the 
next  day  about  three  o'clock  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
mountains.  The  country  was  now  very  hilly  and 
stony.  On  the  eighth  of  September  they  bore  slight- 
ly north,  over  very  rocky  ground,  crossing  the  Staun- 
ton River  twice  during  the  day.  About  one  o'clock 
they  passed  a  tree  upon  which  had  been  burned  the 


72  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


letters  M.A.  NI.  At  four  o'clock  they  arrived  at  the 
first  foothill  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  Pushing  on  over  it, 
they  camped  that  night  under  the  main  range.  The 
next  morning  they  forded  Staunton  River  again, 
climbed  one  of  the  irregular  ranges  which  break  the 
surface  of  the  valley,  crossed  "a  lovely  descending 
valley"  about  six  miles  in  width,  and  again  dropped 
sharply  into  the  Roanoke  ''  Valley  at  the  Totero  town, 
not  far  from  the  modern  city  of  Roanoke.  Here, 
among  the  Toteros,  they  remained  for  two  days,  for 
Perecute  was  very  sick  with  fever  and  had  an  attack 
of  ague  every  afternoon.  The  Indians  proved  to  be 
very  hospitable. 

On  the  r^velfth  day,  the  travelers  left  their  horses  at 
the  village  and  securing  a  Totero  guide  set  out  on 
foot  south-westwardly,  up  and  down  mountains  and 
steep  valleys,  crossing  and  recrossing  the  Roanoke 
and  its  tributaries.  At  four  o'clock  Perecute  was 
again  seized  with  ague,  so  they  camped  beside  the 
Roanoke,  almost  at  its  head,  and  beneath  the  main 
range  of  the  Alleghenies. 

The  trail  from  the  Roanoke  to  the  New  could  not 
have  been  very  far  from  the  line  now  followed  by  the 
Virginian  Railway,  except  that  on  the  descent  it  prob- 
ably bore  down  the  divide  between  Lick  and  Crab 
Creeks.  In  the  morning  a  three  mile  walk  brought 
the  travelers  to  the  foot  of  the  divide,  and  another 
three  miles  of  steep  and  slippery  path  led  them  to  the 
top.  They  sat  down  there  very  weary  and  gazed  over 
high  mountains  "as  if  piled  one  upon  the  other,"  as 

91  The  upper  reaches  of  the  Staunton  -  called  Sapony  by  Fallam-bear 
the  name  "Roanoke." 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  73 

far  as  the  eye  could  reach  -  "a  pleasing  tho'  dreadful 
sight,"  wrote  Fallam.  The  descent  into  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  New  River  was  easy.  Three  miles  be- 
yond the  divide  they  came  to  two  trees,  one  branded 
M  A.  N  L,  the  other  cut  with  the  letters  M  A  and 
other  marks  which  were  undecipherable.  Close  by 
was  a  swift  run,  flowing  northwest- the  western 
waters  at  last.  So  Batts  and  Fallam  were  not  the  first 
white  men  to  pass  the  eastern  continental  divide  and 
drink  from  the  waters  that  flow  into  the  Ohio,  that 
thirteenth  day  of  September,  1671.  They  were  sim- 
ply the  first  to  leave  us  their  story. 

The  explorers  marched  on  over  rich  ground, 
watered  by  many  streams  flowing  into  the  "great 
River,"  through  ''brave  meadows,  wMth  grass  about 
man's  hight."  During  the  day  they  crossed  the  New 
River  three  times,  first  about  three  and  one-half  miles 
due  north  of  the  present  town  of  Radford.  The 
farther  they  went  west  the  richer  was  the  soil,  and  the 
more  numerous  the  open  meadows  and  old  fields.  For 
the  next  three  days,  they  tramped  through  the  valley, 
traversing  a  pleasant  land,  but  were  delayed  and  dis- 
tressed by  many  misfortunes.  Food  was  exhausted  by 
the  fourteenth  of  September.  The  party  stopped  to 
hunt,  but  owing  to  the  dryness  of  the  ground  the  In- 
dians could  kill  no  game,  so  for  two  days  they  had 
only  the  wayside  haws  to  stay  their  stomachs.  Pere- 
cute  continued  very  ill  but  insisted  upon  further  ad- 
vance. The  Totero  guide  deserted  on  the  fifteenth. 
On  the  sixteenth  they  managed  to  kill  some  game,  but 
their  Indians  were  restive,  and  having  reached  the 
New  River  again  it  was  thought  best  to  call  a  halt. 


74  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

They  had  come  to  the  point  where  the  New  breaks 
through  Peters'  Mountain,  at  Peters'  Falls,  in  Giles 
County,  Virginia,  and  on  the  West  Virginia  line. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  explorers  prepared  to 
take  possession  of  the  country  thus  discovered,  the 
story  of  which  act  has  already  been  told  in  the  open- 
ing paragraphs  of  this  volume.  Remembering  the 
terms  of  their  commission,  the  white  men  made  their 
way  through  some  tangled  old  fields,  which  the  Mo- 
hetan  (Cherokee)  Indians  had  not  long  since  culti- 
vated, down  to  the  water  side,  stuck  up  a  stick,  and 
persuaded  themselves  that  the  water  was  ebbing, 
though  not  very  rapidly.  The  Indians  would  not  let 
them  stop  long;  but  as  they  were  turning  homeward 
they  saw  from  a  hilltop  a  fog  and  a  glimmer  as  of 
water,  and  returned  in  the  confidence  that  they  had 
reached  the  tidal  waters  on  the  confines  of  the  v/estern 
sea.  From  his  letter  of  two  years  later  it  is  seen  that 
Wood  knew  better. 

When  the  travelers  reached  the  Hanahaskie  vil- 
lage on  the  way  back,  they  found  that  Mr.  Thomas 
Wood  had  died  and  was  buried.  They  made  faster 
time  on  the  return,  and  came  into  Fort  Henry  on 
Sunday  morning,  October  i.  "God's  holy  name  be 
praised  for  our  preservation,"  piously  wrote  Mr.  Fal- 
iam. 

There  is  an  account  of  the  achievements  of  Batts 
and  Fallam  other  than  their  journal,  and  much  better 
known.  It  is  found  in  Robert  Beverley's  History  of 
Virginia.^^  In  it  the  genesis  of  the  expedition  is  as- 
cribed to  Governor  Berkeley,  Wood  is  not  mentioned, 

3-  Beverley,  Robert.     History  of  Virginia,  62-64. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  75 

the  leader  is  styled  "Captain  Henry  Batt,"  and  the 
numbers  of  the  party  given  as  about  fourteen  white 
men  -  all  unnamed  -  and  as  many  Indians.  No  dates, 
precise  distances  or  details  are  given,  and  the  whole 
afifair  is  clouded  in  an  atmosphere  of  vagueness.  Bev- 
erley's personal  opinion  is  that  the  explorers  did  not 
cross  the  mountains  at  all,  but  rather  skirted  them 
southward.  When  they  were  actually  starving,  he 
represents  them  as  traversing  a  hunter's  paradise  of 
incredibly  numerous  and  tame  animals.  Beverley's 
narrative  was  written  more  than  a  generation  after 
the  event,  and  was  evidently  based  on  vague  tradition. 
It  should  be  regarded  as  devoid  of  any  value  or  au- 
thenticity whatever. 

It  has,  nevertheless,  an  importance;  for  historians, 
and  particularly  those  of  Virginia,  have  almost  with- 
out exception  derived  from  it  their  sole  knowledge  of 
the  expedition,  thus  naturally  bringing  discredit  on 
the  whole  affair.  Beverley  should  be  associated  with 
Coxe  as  the  twin  perverter  of  the  history  of  western 
exploration  in  Virginia  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
As  in  the  case  of  Coxe,  the  later  waiters,  w^hether 
credulous  or  contemptuous,  who  have  copied  the 
story  have  done  their  part  to  twist  the  account.  Some 
have  not  troubled  to  look  up  even  Beverley  himself 
at  first  hand,  and  Batts'  very  name  undergoes  surpris- 
ing transformations.^^ 

^3  Some  authors  who  have  certainly  or  apparently  followed  Beverley  at 
first  or  second  hand  are:  Wynne,  General  History  of  the  British  Empire  in 
America,  vol.  ii,  221;  Burk,  History  of  f'inrinia,  149;  Howison,  History  of 
Viriiinia,  383;  Cooke,  I'iri^inia,  234.  Batts  becomes  "Botts"  in  the  State 
of  the  British  ami  French  Colonies,  ii8;  "Bolton"  in  Adair's  American  In- 
dians, 308,  and  in  Parkman,  La  Salle  and  the  Discovery  of  the  Great 
JFest,   s- 


76  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

It  should  not  be  supposed  that  Abraham  Wood 
was  alone  in  his  desire  to  obtain  knowledge  of  the 
mountain  trails  and  of  the  mysterious  waterways  and 
seas  that  lay  beyond.  The  period  was  one  in  which 
fur-trading  was  politically  and  economically  one  of 
the  dominant  industries  of  the  colony,  and  when  there 
was  a  corresponding  activity  in  furthering  the  work 
of  western  exploration  on  the  part  of  those  who  held 
great  financial  interests  in  the  Indian  trade.  The 
stake  which  Berkeley  had  in  the  fur  business  was  a 
matter  of  common  knowledge  in  the  colony  and  a 
cause  of  his  growing  unpopularity  with  the  agricul- 
tural element,  and  particularly  with  that  part  of  it 
which  had  pushed  out  close  to  the  fall-line  frontier. 
Bacon's  rebellion,  the  seeds  of  which  were  being 
planted  in  these  years,  was  in  one  aspect  the  proto- 
type and  one  of  the  bloodiest  examples  of  the  sort  of 
struggle  which  is  going  on  at  this  moment  in  the 
Peace  River  Valley  between  the  settlers  and  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company.  Bacon,  who  lived  on  the 
edge  of  the  farming  frontier,  complained  bitterly,  in 
his  statement  of  grievances  to  the  home  government, 
of  Berkeley's  financial  interest  in  the  fur-trade,  charg- 
ing that  "these  traders  at  the  head  of  the  rivers  buy 
and  sell  our  blood."  '"'  In  the  rebellion,  to  which 
Bacon  has  given  his  name,  the  great  traders  either 
clung  to  the  government,  as  did  Wood,  or  tried  to 
hedge,  as  did  William  Byrd. 

Byrd  was  Wood's  principal  rival  in  the  attempt  to 
open  the  great  western  country.  We  learn  from  Fal- 
lam's  journal  that  when  his  party  was  at  the  Totero 

^*  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  West  Indies,  1676, 
p.    448. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  77 

village,  midway  in  the  valley  of  Virginia,  on  its 
return  (September  19,  1671),  Byrd  with  a  "great 
company"  had  just  been  within  three  miles  of  the 
place  on  an  exploring  expedition.'""'  We  know  noth- 
ing more  of  Byrd's  activities  in  exploration,  but  after 
Wood's  death  he  was  regarded  as  the  best  informed 
man  concerning  western  matters  in  the  colony,  and 
had  sources  of  information  sufficiently  remote  to  hear 
as  early  as  1688  of  the  descent  of  the  French  into  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  and  to  be  apprehensive  that  it 
would  result  in  cutting  off  the  Virginia  fur-trade.^" 
If  Beverley  is  to  be  believed,  Governor  Berkeley 
was  greatly  aroused  by  the  news  of  Batts'  success  and 
resolved  to  go  exploring  in  person,  and  wx  are  told 
that  the  Assembly  passed  an  act  to  further  the  plan, 
but  that  it  was  not  carried  out  before  Bacon's  Rebel- 
lion intervened.^'  Certain  it  is  that  during  the  win- 
ter (January  22,  1671/2),  he  wrote  to  the  committee 
for  trade  and  plantations  that  he  would  send  out  a 
party  in  February,  and  hoped  after  their  return  to  be 
himself  an  eye  witness  to  the  "happy  discovery  to  the 
West"  which  he  had  so  often  contemplated.  There 
is  nothing  to  inform  us  whether  he  dispatched  the 
explorers ;  or  if  so,  what  they  accomplished ;  and  from 
this  time  the  record  is  silent  regarding  the  old  govern- 
or's plans.  Although  he  may  have  originally  chosen 
Wood  to  carry  out  the  plans  of  exploration,  the  next 
expeditions  seem  to  have  been  undertaken  by  the  lat- 
ter on  his  own  initiative;  yet  the  first  may  have  been 

^■'  See  pages  192-193. 
^^  Clayton's  letter,  post,  pages  194-195. 

^^  Beverley,  Robert.     History  of  Virginia,  63.     Little  or  no  credence  is  to 
be  placed  in  this  account,  particularly  as  the  act  mentioned  can  not  be  found. 


78  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

the  one  the  governor  expected  to  send  out  in  Febru- 
ary. 

/  From  the  foregoing  narrative,  it  is  clear  that  by 
1 67 1  much  had  been  done.  Wood  may  well  have 
gone  in  person  or  sent  out  men  who  passed  the  Blue 
Ridge  before  Batts  and  Fallam.  The  fact  that  he 
commissioned  the  latter  simply  to  find  out  about  the 
tidal  waters  beyond  the  mountains  would  seem  to  in- 
dicate that  the  passes  were  already  known.  The  men 
who  left  their  initials  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and 
again  beyond  the  AUeghanies  were  probably  not  his; 
but  whosever  they  were,  their  markings  show  that  by 
1671  at  least  three  parties  of  white  men  had  been  far 
beyond  the  Blue  Ridge  along  the  New  River  trail, 
and  two  of  them  beyond  the  Allegheny  divide.  The 
path  which  Fallam  followed  is  seen  from  his  refer- 
ences to  it  to  have  been  a  plain  Indian  trail,  doubtless 
well  known  to  the  guides.  From  the  behavior  of  the 
Indians  in  firing  salutes  and  the  like  it  appears  cer- 
tain that  in  the  villages  along  the  route,  as  far  as  that 
of  the  Toteros,  white  men  were  welcome  and  familiar 
guests.  So  far  had  the  Virginians  progressed  on  the 
way  to  Kentucky,  a  century  before  Daniel  Boone  and 
forty-five  years  before  Spotswood's  "pleasant  summer 
picnicking  excursion"  into  the  Shenandoah  Valley. 
The  trail  to  the  present  site  of  Tennessee  was  the 
next  to  be  traced.  The  information  concerning  the 
expeditions  which  ended  in  the  opening  of  the  trade 
with  the  distant  Cherokee  Indians  has  been  preserved 
in  a  letter  written  by  Abraham  Wood  to  his  friend, 
John  Richards  of  London.  Richards  had  been  in 
Virginia,  whence  he  returned  to  England  and  was 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  79 

employed  as  treasurer  by  the  Lords  Proprietors  of 
Carolina,  so  that  it  was  natural  that  the  important 
letter  containing  an  account  of  the  explorations  should 
be  addressed  to  him.''*  This  letter  passed  into  the 
hands  of  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  whose  secretary, 
John  Locke,  annotated  it.  It  is  published  for  the  first 
time  in  this  volume. 

The  heroes  of  this,  the  most  truly  remarkable  as 
well  as  romantic  of  the  English  explorations  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  were  James  Needham,  a  gentle- 
man who  had  been  a  freeholder  of  the  infant  colony 
of  South  Carolina  during  the  first  two  years  of  its 
settled  existence,  and  who  had  possessed  there  a  repu- 
tation for  reliability  and  courage  in  wilderness 
travel, ''^  and  Gabriel  Arthur,  an  illiterate  but  clever 
lad  who  was  probably  an  indentured  servant  of 
Wood.  Accompanied  by  eight  Indians  they  made  a 
start  from  Fort  Henry  on  the  tenth  of  April,  1673. 

Wood  evidently  determined  that  lack  of  food 
should  not  be  a  cause  of  failure  as  in  the  case  of  Batts 
and  Fallam,  so  he  provisioned  the  party  for  three 
months.  This  time,  however,  a  still  more  serious  ob- 
stacle intervened.  The  Indians  of  the  frontier  and 
just  beyond  wxre  frequently  jealous  of  the  white 
traders'  enterprises  in  the  hinterland,  for  these  meant 

^^  See  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  West  Indies,  nos. 
901,  1 124,  1402,  1673. 

^^  James  Needham  came  to  South  Carolina  on  September  22,  1670.  He 
was  involved  in  a  lawsuit  in  October,  1671.  In  August,  1672,  he  was 
despatched  by  the  council  in  company  with  Henry  Woodward,  then  the 
mainstay  of  the  colony  in  regard  to  exploration  and  Indian  relations,  to 
arrest  a  traitor  who  was  attempting  to  reach  the  Spaniards  through  the 
landward  wilderness.  Nothing  further  is  known  of  him,  and  the  identi- 
fication with  Wood's  agent  is  of  course  not  proved,  but  extremely  probable. 
South  Carolina  Historical  Collections,  vol.  v,  271,  302,  345,  411. 


8o  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

to  them  the  loss  of  profits  on  the  trade  for  which  they 
acted  as  middlemen,  and  the  arming  with  European 
weapons  of  more  numerous  and  possibly  hostile  tribes 
in  their  rear.  Most  of  the  Indians  of  the  Virginia 
piedmont,  however,  seem  to  have  been  very  friendly 
to  the  traders  and  exploring  parties;  but  the  Occa- 
neechi,  though  of  the  same  eastern  Siouan  stock  as 
the  rest,  formed  a  notable  exception.  Few  in  number 
but  fierce  and  treacherous,  they  were  strongly  forti- 
fied on  their  island  in  the  Roanoke  River  at  the  mod- 
ern Clarksville,  Virginia,  just  below  the  confluence  of 
the  Dan  and  Staunton;  and  recruiting  their  numbers 
from  vagabonds  and  fragments  of  various  tribes,  they 
exercised  a  great  influence  on  the  neighboring  peoples 
and  were  a  great  hindrance  to  the  white  advance  into 
the  interior."" 

The  great  fur-trading  highway  through  the  Caro- 
lina piedmont  crossed  their  island,  and  was  named  the 
Occoneechee  or  Trading  Path.  Bland  and  Wood  had 
journeyed  thus  far  in  1650,  and  in  1673  this  trail  was 
frequented  for  many  miles  beyond.  These  Indians, 
or  their  neighbors  farther  on,  prevented  Needham 
and  Arthur  from  crossing  the  mountains  on  their  first 
expedition. 

The  persistent  Wood  sent  them  out  again  on  the 
seventeenth  of  May,  with  a  change  of  mounts  for  each 

^'"^  As  stated  above  (pages  67-68),  Lederer's  directions  would  place  them 
on  the  Dan,  about  Danville ;  but  not  too  great  credence  should  be  given  to 
him.  They  were  certainly  in  that  location  in  1650,  however.  Mooney  places 
them  at  the  confluence  of  the  Dan  and  the  Staunton  when  Lederer 
visited  them.  Later  they  certainly  were  there;  but  were  found  by  Lawson 
in  1701  on  the  Eno.  See  Mooney,  "Siouan  Tribes  of  the  East"  in  Bureau 
of  American  Ethnology,  Bulletin  22;  and  article  "Occaneechi,"  Handbook 
of  American  Indians,  Bulletin  30. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  8 1 

of  the  white  men.  About  the  twenty-fifth  of  June 
they  met  a  band  of  Tomahitan,  who  seem  to  be  identi- 
cal with  the  Mohetan  and  the  Cherokee,  on  their  way 
from  the  mountains  to  the  Occaneechi  village.  De- 
spite the  machinations  of  the  Occaneechi,  who  were 
naturally  angry  at  the  loss  of  their  position  as  go-be- 
tweens in  the  trade,  eleven  of  the  Cherokee  pushed 
through  to  Wood's  plantation,  and  then  overtook 
Needham  with  the  main  band  on  the  way  to  the 
Cherokee  country,  and  effected  an  exchange  of  letters. 

Nine  days  the  party  traveled  southwest  from  the 
Occaneechi  village,  crossing  nine  eastward-flowing 
rivers  and  creeks,  to  Sitteree,  the  last  village  before 
reaching  the  Cherokee  country,  and  doubtless  on  the 
headwaters  of  the  Yadkin.  There  they  left  the  trail 
and  struck  due  west  over  the  great  North  Carolina 
Blue  Ridge.  Four  days  of  hard  going,  when  they  had 
sometimes  to  lead  their  horses,  brought  them  to  its 
narrow  crest. 

This  Carolina  Blue  Ridge,  which  they  traversed, 
differed  only  in  its  greater  magnitude  and  wildness 
from  the  Virginia  portion.  The  gorges  are  here 
deeper,  and  their  w^ooded  sides  black  rather  than  blue, 
when  seen  near  at  hand.  The  rhododendrons  grow 
more  luxuriantly  on  the  higher  and  colder  summits, 
and  sooner  begin  to  replace  the  laurel  as  one  ascends; 
and  at  from  four  to  five  thousand  feet  the  oaks  and 
chestnuts  give  way  to  stately  conifers,  the  spruce,  the 
white  pine,  and  the  balsam,  which  two  or  three  hun- 
dred miles  farther  north  are  found  only  on  the  higher 
knobs  and  ridges  or  in  the  more  inaccessible  notches. 
Here,  too,   rock  faces  and  crags  more  often  break 


82  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

through  the  forest-clad  slopes;  and  little  waterfalls, 
frequent  throughout  the  length  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  be- 
come more  numerous  as  one  goes  southward. 

The  descent  from  the  summit  was  found  to  be  easier 
and  within  half  a  day  Needham  and  his  party  were 
crossing  a  level  and  well  watered  valley,  bounded  by 
tier  after  tier  of  noble  mountain  ranges.  Five  shallow 
rivers  were  crossed,  all  flowing  northwest,  and  hence 
most  probably  the  head  streams  of  the  New.  By  this 
time  all  but  one  of  the  horses  had  died.  They  held  on 
due  west,  crossing  a  country  abounding  in  game,  ob- 
serving the  phenomenon  which  gives  the  Great 
Smoky  Mountains  their  name,  and  at  the  end  of  fif- 
teen days  from  Sitteree  were  on  the  banks  of  a  west- 
ward-flowing river -the  home  of  their  Cherokee 
friends.^^^ 

The  Cherokee  village  stood  on  a  high  bluf¥  and 
was  strongly  fortified  with  a  twelve  foot  palisade  and 
parapet  on  the  landward  sides.  By  the  waterside  were 
kept  a  hundred  and  fifty  large  war  canoes,  and  in  the 
magazines  were  large  stores  of  dried  fish.  White 
men  and  horses  had  apparently  never  before  been  seen 
in  the  town,  so  they  were  the  objects  of  respectful  but 
intense  curiosity.  The  one  surviving  horse  was  tied 
to  a  stake  in  the  center  of  the  town ;  and  abundant  food 
of  whatever  sort  the  Indians  possessed,  vegetable  and 
animal,  was  ofifered  it.  The  two  white  men  and  their 
Appomattox  Indian  -  the  single  one  of  the  eight  who 
had  been  courageous  enough  to  attempt  the  passage 

101  After  a  prolonged  study  of  all  the  data  in  Wood's  letter  it  is  impos- 
sible to  fix  with  confidence  the  identity  of  this  river.  It  may  have  been  the 
Tennessee  or  any  one  of  its  main  branches;  but  all  in  all,  the  French  Broad 
or  the  Little  Tennessee  seem  the  likeliest  conjecture. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  83 

of  the  mountains -were  placed  on  an  elevated  plat- 
form, that  the  multitude  might  see  but  not  press  uptjn 
them. 

Novel  as  were  the  English  visitors,  the  Cherokee 
had  long  been  acquainted  with  the  Spaniards  of 
Florida.  They  possessed,  indeed,  some  sixty  Spanish 
flintlock  muskets,  and  other  European  implements, 
and  must  have  traded  with  the  Spaniards  directly  or 
through  intermediaries  for  many  years.  This  inter- 
course had  recently  ceased,  because  a  party  of  Indians 
which  had  gone  to  Florida  to  trade  had  been  half 
murdered,  half  enslaved.  After  a  period  of  captivity 
two  had  succeeded  in  escaping,  and  brought  word  to 
the  tribe  of  their  barbarous  treatment.  Since  then, 
the  Cherokee  had  nursed  a  deadly  enmity  for  the 
Spaniards,  and  on  that  account  Needham  had  less 
difficulty  in  binding  them  in  friendship  to  the  Eng- 
lish. One  of  the  two,  who  had  been  prisoners  among 
the  Spaniards  and  had  learned  their  language,  twice 
visited  Wood's  plantation  and  described  the  Spanish 
settlements  to  him  in  person. 

After  a  short  rest,  Needham  determined  to  return 
to  Fort  Henry,  in  company  with  a  dozen  Cherokee, 
and  to  leave  Arthur  behind  to  learn  the  language.  On 
the  tenth  of  September  he  reached  home,  made  hur- 
ried preparations  for  another  journey,  and  within  ten 
days  had  turned  his  face  again  toward  the  mountains. 
His  intention  was  to  make  only  a  short  visit  to  the 
Cherokee  and  bring  Arthur  back  with  him  in  the 
spring.  Naturally  Wood  had  been  greatly  elated  at 
the  success  of  the  expedition  and  had  high  hopes  of 
the  future.   He  eagerly  followed  Needham's  westward 


84  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

journey,  as  news  of  his  progress  was  brought  to  him, 
and  heard  that  his  agent  had  safely  passed  the  Eno  vil- 
lage and  all  seemed  well.  On  the  twenty-seventh  of 
January,  1674,  however,  a  flying  report  reached  him 
that  his  men  had  been  murdered  by  the  Cherokee  in 
their  country.  Then  rumors  of  the  disaster  followed 
each  other  faster  and  faster,  but  the  facts  were  difficult 
to  learn,  for  the  Indians  were,  as  always,  fearful  of 
telling  the  exact  truth.  Wood  dispatched  a  runner 
to  make  inquiries;  but  before  his  return,  one  Henry 
Hatcher,  an  independent  trader,  friendly  to  Wood 
and  well  acquainted  with  the  Carolina  piedmont,'"" 
arrived  and  notified  Wood  that  Needham  had  cer- 
tainly been  killed,  and  identified  the  murderer. 

From  eye-witnesses  Wood  later  heard  the  story  in 
all  its  details.  With  Needham  was  an  Occaneechi, 
Indian  John  or  Hasecoll  by  name,  a  precious  scoun- 
drel who  had  gone  on  the  first  expedition  and  been 
suitably  rewarded,  and  retained  by  Wood  to  go  on 
the  return  trip  and  escort  the  party  safely  past  his 
dangerous  friends.  It  was  the  trader  Hatcher,  how- 
ever, who  persuaded  the  Occaneechi  to  let  them  pass, 
and  even  then  several  warriors  accompanied  the  ex- 
plorer, doubtless,  as  Wood  suggested,  to  see  the  mur- 
der. Near  the  mountains  the  treacherous  protector 
became  threatening;  but  Needham  maintained  a  fear- 
less and  defiant  attitude,  his  only  hope  of  safety.  That 
evening  at  their  bivouac  at  the  ford  of  the  Yadkin, 
the  treacherous  Hasecoll  shot  the  Englishman 
through  the  head,  before  he  could  draw  sword  or  the 
Cherokee  spring  to  his  rescue.    Ripping  open  Need- 

^02  Byrd,  William.     Writings,  309. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  85 

ham's  body,  he  tore  out  the  heart  and  held  it  up  in  his 
hand,  and  with  face  turned  eastward  bade  defiance  to 
the  whole  English  nation.  He  then  commanded  the 
frightened  Cherokee  to  go  home  and  kill  Arthur, 
looted  the  pack-train  to  his  satisfaction,  and  made  of? 
with  the  booty  loaded  on  Needham's  horse. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  life  of  this  discoverer  of 
Tennessee,  James  Needham,  is  all  too  meager.  What 
manner  of  man  was  this  who  rivalled  the  deeds  of 
contemporary  Frenchmen  whose  names,  unlike  his, 
are  so  well  known  in  history?  That  will  never  be 
known.  We  are  even  ignorant  of  the  full  extent  of  his 
discoveries,  for  the  journal  he  kept,  although  known 
to  several  in  the  eighteenth  century,  has  been  lost. 
All  that  can  be  done  is  to  accept  the  estimate  of  him 
and  his  work  by  one  who  knew  him  well.  James 
Needham's  epitaph  has  been  written  by  his  friend  and 
superior,  Abraham  Wood,  in  these  words: 

So  died  this  heroyick  English  man  whose  fame  shall  never 
die  if  my  pen  were  able  to  eternize  it  which  had  adventured 
where  never  any  English  man  had  dared  to  atempt  before  and 
with  him  died  one  hundred  forty-foure  pounds  starling  of  my 
adventure  with  him.  I  wish  I  could  have  saved  his  life  with 
ten  times  the  value. 

Two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  years  have  elapsed 
since  these  words  were  written,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  at  last  the  pen  of  Abraham  Wood  will  "eternize" 
the  memory  of  one  to  whom  history  has  been  so  long 
unjust. 

The  dazed  Cherokee,  after  the  murder  of  Need- 
ham,  hurried  home  and  reported  what  had  occurred. 
The  chief  of  the  village  was  away  so  that  the  party 


86  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


friendly  to  the  Occaneechi  was,  for  a  moment,  in  the 
ascendency.  They  seized  Gabriel  Arthur,  bound 
him  to  a  stake,  and  heaped  dry  reeds  about  him.  In 
spite  of  the  protests  of  some  of  the  Indians,  it  seemed 
that  another  life  was  to  be  sacrificed  on  the  altar  of 
exploration.  At  the  critical  moment,  the  chief,  gun 
on  shoulder,  entered  the  village;  and,  hearing  the 
commotion,  ran  to  the  rescue.  An  adopted  member 
of  the  tribe,  angered  at  this  interference,  defiantly 
grasped  a  torch  and  started  to  light  the  pyre;  but  the 
war  chief  shot  him  dead,  cut  Arthur  loose  with  his 
own  hands,  and  led  him  to  his  lodge. 

The  chief  promised  Arthur  to  escort  him  home  in 
the  spring,  but  in  the  meantime  armed  him  in  Indian 
fashion  and  sent  him  out  with  a  war  party,  doubtless 
with  regard  to  his  safety.  The  Cherokee,  like  their 
neighbors  on  all  sides,  were  continually  at  war  and 
sent  out  bands  of  warriors  often  hundreds  of  miles 
distant.  On  such  expeditions  Arthur  was  sent  and  ex- 
perienced a  remarkable  series  of  adventures.  Unfor- 
tunately he  was  unable  to  write  and  hence  kept  no 
journal ;  his  memory  of  elapsed  time  and  of  directions 
cannot  be  regarded  as  accurate,  but  the  main  outlines 
of  his  story  appear  trustworthy. 

He  was  first  taken  on  a  foray  against  one  of  the 
small  Spanish  mission  settlements  in  the  Apalache 
country  in  West  Florida."^  The  band  lurked  for  some 
time  in  the  vicinity  of  the  post  and  of  an  outlying 

103  xhe  precise  location  cannot  be  determined.  Small  fort-towns  such  as 
Arthur  describes  were  common  in  the  Apalache  countrj-.  See  McCrady, 
South  Carolina  under  the  Proprietary  Government,  392-393.  Needham  mis- 
takenly located  the  Spanish  settlement  on  the  lower  course  of  the  Cherokee's 
river.  Arthur  stated  that  the  war  party  traveled  eight  days  west  by  south, 
as  he  guessed,  and  this  was  probably  not  very  far  wrong. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  87 

slave  settlement,  but  the  strong  brick  walls  defied  at- 
tack ;  so  after  ambushing  and  killing  a  Spanish  gentle- 
man and  a  negro  and  robbing  the  bodies,  they  hurried 
homeward. 

In  a  little  while  another  raid  was  ordered,  this  time 
directed  against  an  Indian  village  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  Port  Royal,  South  Carolina.  After  being 
reassured  that  the  Cherokee  would  do  no  harm  to  the 
English  settlers,  Arthur  went  with  the  party  as  com- 
manded. Six  days  brought  them  over  the  mountains 
to  the  head  of  Port  Royal  River.  There,  they  made 
bark  canoes  and  swiftly  descended  the  stream  to  a 
point  from  which  a  day  and  night  march  to  the  south- 
east brought  them  upon  their  quarry.  Creeping  near 
an  English  house  on  the  way,  Arthur  overheard  an 
exclamation  which  told  him  that  it  was  Christmas 
time.  At  dawn  the  band  surprised  the  doomed  vil- 
lage, slaughtered  the  inhabitants,  but  true  to  their 
word  let  a  chance  English  trader  go  free,  and  in  less 
than  two  weeks  of  swift  marching  had  recrossed  the 
mountains  with  their  plunder. 

The  chief  now  took  Arthur  with  him  on  a  visit  to 
his  friends  the  Moneton,^''*  ten  days'  journey  due 
northward,  on  the  Great  Kanawha  about  a  day's 
march  from  where  it  flows  into  the  Ohio,  and  some- 
thing like  a  hundred  miles  below  the  point  at  which 
Batts  and  Fallam  had  turned  back. 

On  the  Ohio  then  dwelt  a  very  numerous  Indian 
people,  probably  the  Shawnee,  enemies  of  the  Chero- 

i^'^The  word,  according  to  Mooney  (letter  of  Jan.  7,  1909),  is  Siouan. 
The  identity  of  the  tribe  is  doubtful.  From  location  and  similarity  of  name 
they  may  perhaps  be  simply  the  Mohetan  of  Fallam's  journal,  and  belong  to 
the  Cherokee.  The  Mohetan  told  Batts  and  Fallam  that  their  villages  were 
about  half-wav  between  Peters'  Mountain  and  the  Ohio. 


88  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


kee."'  Combining  duty  with  pleasure,  the  visiting 
band  went  three  days  out  of  their  homeward  way  to 
"give  a  clap  to  some  of  that  great  nation;"  but  this 
time  they  received  as  good  as  they  gave.  Arthur  was 
wounded  by  two  arrows,  one  through  the  thigh,  over- 
taken, and  captured.  His  long  hair  saved  his  life, 
for  the  Cherokee  kept  theirs  cropped  close  to  prevent 
an  enemy  from  laying  hold  of  it.  When  his  captors 
had  scrubbed  his  skin  with  water  and  ashes  and  found 
him  white,  they  gave  him  back  his  weapons  and  made 
much  of  him.  The  Shawnee  were  at  this  time  en- 
tirely unacquainted  with  firearms,  had  no  iron  weap- 
ons or  utensils  of  any  sort  among  them,  and  had  not 
been  even  remotely  touched  by  the  fur-trade.  Arthur 
saw  them  singeing  a  beaver  preparatory  to  cooking  it, 
and  attempted  in  sign  language  to  tell  them  of  the 
possibility  of  exchanging  pelts  in  Virginia  for  knives 
like  his,  and  promised  to  come  again  to  them  with 
articles  of  trade,  at  which  they  were  greatly  pleased. 
They  finally  gave  him  provisions  and  started  him  on 
his  way  to  the  Cherokee. 

After  his  return,  the  Cherokee  took  him  on  one 
more  expedition,  a  short  hunting  trip  down  their 
river;  and  then,  about  the  tenth  of  May,  1674,  the 
chief  with  eighteen  of  his  people  laden  with  furs, 
started  to  escort  the  young  man  to  Fort  Henry.  At 
the  Saura  village  four  Occaneechi  were  waiting  to 
waylay  Arthur.  Being  so  few,  the  Cherokee  fled,  all 
deserting  their  white  companion  except  the  former 
captive  among  the  Spaniards.  The  young  man  es- 
caped his  would-be  slayers,  however,  and  after  many 

!''■''  The  reports  of  this  tribe  given  bj'  the  Mohetan  to  Batts  and  Fallam 
correspond  with  those  given  to  Arthur  by  the  Moneton. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  89 


adventures,  traversing  by  night  the  Occaneechi  terri- 
tory and  their  very  island,  and  living  on  huckleber- 
ries, he  came  safely  into  Fort  Henry  with  his  com- 
panion, on  the  eighteenth  of  June,  1674. 

Meantime  the  Cherokee  chief,  with  three  of  his 
men,  came  around  by  the  mountains  through  the  To- 
tero  village  to  the  upper  course  of  the  James,  where 
they  made  a  bark  canoe,  descended  the  river  to  the 
Manakin  town  and  thence  came  across  to  Fort  Henry, 
on  the  twentieth  of  July.  Arthur  and  the  "king" 
were  much  rejoiced  to  see  each  other,  and  Wood  en- 
tertained the  chief  for  some  days  in  proper  style,  and 
rewarded  him  well  for  saving  Arthur's  life.  The 
Cherokee  promised  to  return  in  the  fall  with  a  more 
courageous  band;  and  his  host  entertained  no  doubts 
that  he  would  do  so,  if  not  intercepted  by  rival 
traders. 

In  his  letter  to  Richards,  Wood  wrote  that  his  ven- 
tures received  no  encouragement  in  Virginia,  but 
rather  the  reverse;  that  after  Needham's  return  he 
had  placed  the  situation  before  the  Assembly,  but  did 
not  even  receive  a  reply;  and  that  at  all  stages,  his 
explorations  were  blocked  or  hampered  in  every  pos- 
sible way  by  his  enemies.  He  appealed  to  his  corre- 
spondent, therefore,  to  secure  patronage  for  him  in 
England. 

At  this  point  the  known  contemporary  records  of 
the  efiforts  of  Wood  and  the  other  men  of  his  time  to 
explore  the  western  country  come  to  an  end.  The  par- 
ticular impetus  to  such  achievements  lost  itself  in  the 
forces  that  broke  out  in  Bacon's  Rebellion,  which  in- 
volved Virginia  in  a  turmoil  lasting  several  years.  In 
England  also  the  persons  who  had  inspired  the  ad- 


90  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

venture  found  other  objects  to  occupy  their  attention. 
Thus  Lord  Shaftesbury,  who  seems  to  have  been  the 
principal  promoter,  lost  his  influence  at  court  and  was 
forced  into  exile;  and  the  remembrance  of  his  pur- 
poses passed  away  with  his  political  death. 

Any  attempt  to  summarize  the  results  and  signifi- 
cance of  this  quarter  century  of  endeavor  must  be 
guarded  and  somewhat  tentative,  for  a  new  phase  of 
the  history  of  English  advance  is  here  treated  and 
there  is  lacking  the  guidance  of  long  discussion  and 
criticism  by  the  historical  fraternity. 

In  the  first  place,  the  collected  records  show^  that 
by  1674  ^  distinct  class  of  frontiersmen  were  already 
formed  in  Virginia.  They  were  of  English  stock, 
some  of  excellent  antecedents,  many  former  in- 
dentured servants.  The  leaders  and  large  traders, 
like  Bland,  Wood,  Batts,  Fallam,  and  Needham 
were  well  educated  and  kept  careful  journals  when 
exploring.  Others  were  ignorant,  even  illiterate,  and 
thus  the  stories  of  many  of  the  pathfinders  of  the  Ap- 
palachian wilderness  are  forever  lost  to  us.^"*' 

Yet  they  were  as  a  class  intelligent,  courageous,  and 
surprisingly  adaptable  and  resourceful,  even  when 
illiterate.  Three  classes  may  be  distinguished,  though 
individuals  passed  through  all  three:  first,  the  great 
traders  like  Wood,  Cadwallader  Jones,  and  the 
Byrds,  dwelling  in  state  better  than  any  Canadian 
seigneur  in  their  plantation  posts  at  the  fall  line; 
second,  the  substantial  free  traders  like  Henry 
Hatcher;'"^  third,  the  indentured  servants  and  the 

1""  Compare  Lawson,  History  of  Carolina,  "Preface." 
i'J7  Byrd,  William.     Writings,  234-235. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  91 

employees  of  the  great  traders,  of  whom  several  are 
mentioned  in  each  of  the  long  narratives. 

The  Virginia  frontiersmen  are  seen  as  familiar 
visitors  in  all  the  Indian  villages  in  the  Virginia  and 
Carolina  piedmont.  Before  the  end  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  some  of  them  had  settled  among  the  Indians, 
sometimes  even  beyond  the  mountains,  perhaps  mar- 
rying Indian  wives. "^  The  trail  through  to  the  New 
River  was  evidently  used  by  the  fur-traders,  and  they 
kept  on  to  the  Ohio  at  an  early  date,  for  in  1700  the 
French  commandant  at  Detroit  stated  that  for  some 
years  the  English  had  been  quietly  coming  to  the 
Beautiful  River  (Ohio)  with  their  packs;  and  he  in- 
structed his  Indians  to  proceed  thither,  cut  them  off, 
and  pillage  their  goods. ^'^''  In  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, when  the  settlers  poured  into  the  New  River 
Valley,  there  remained  a  remembrance  of  the  path- 
finder in  that  region,  for  the  stream  itself  was  known 
as  Wood's  River,^^"  a  fact  which  proves  a  continuous 
intercourse  between  the  region  and  Virginia,  for 
otherwise  the  name  would  soon  have  been  forgotten. 

The  results  of  the  southwestern  explorations  by 
Needham  and  Arthur  were  still  more  important.  It 
is  true  that  the  pathless  route  across  the  mountains 

1°^  For  instance,  Stewart,  whom  Lawson  found  long  established  in  the 
upper  Yadkin  Valley  in  1700  [Lawson,  History  of  Carolina,  96],  or  Doherty, 
who  settled  among  the  Cherokee  in  1690.  Logan,  History  of  South  Carolina, 
vol.  i,  168;  Ramsey,  Annals  of  Tennessee,  63. 

109  AT^TO   York  Colonial  Documents,  vol.   ix,   706. 

'^'^^  Journal  of  Dr.  Thomas  Walker,  Filson  Club  Publications,  vol.  xiii, 
36;  Christopher  Gist's  Journals,  65,  254  (last  in  journal  of  John  Peter  Salley, 
1742)  ;  in  early  land  grants,  circa  1745,  in  West  Virginia  Historical  Maga- 
zine, Apr.,  1901,  p.  6;  in  report  of  way  viewers  Patton  and  Buchanon,  1745, 
in  Scott,  History  of  Orange  County,  Virginia,  31;  Jefferson  and  Frj-e,  Map 
of  Virginia,  1751;  Mitchell,  Map  of  the  British  Colonies,  1755. 


92  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

which  they  followed  was  probably  not  used  by  later 
travelers,  who  kept  on  around  the  southern  end  of  the 
Appalachians;  but  Needham  opened  the  Cherokee 
trade  to  the  Virginians,  and  allied  that  great  tribe  to 
the  English  interest,  a  service  of  no  small  value  in  the 
westward  progress  of  the  English-speaking  people. 
The  traders  from  Virginia  reaped  the  profits  of  the 
fur-trade  in  that  locality  for  years,  before  the  Caro- 
lina colonists  reached  the  mountains.  When,  a  little 
before  1700,  the  latter  began  to  divide  the  trade,  Eng- 
lish influence  expanded  rapidly,  and  in  1700  the 
French  found  Carolina  traders  on  the  Mississippi."' 
The  influence  of  the  English  among  the  powerful 
tribes  of  the  southwest  during  the  first  third  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  its  effect  on  the  attempts  of 
the  French  to  colonize  and  control  the  lower  Missis- 
sippi Valley  are  too  well  known  to  need  more  than 
mention. 

The  movement  which  has  been  discussed,  when 
viewed  in  the  broadest  way,  is  simply  a  part  of  the 
westward  thrust  of  the  English  population,  proceed- 
ing from  the  oldest  and  most  populous  of  their  colo- 
nies. Looking  at  it  from  the  point  of  view  of  the 
men  of  that  time,  the  reason  which  produced  this 
great  movement,  was  simply  an  effort  to  grasp  one 
of  the  two  principal  business  opportunities  then  open 
to  the  Virginia  colonists:  one  of  these  was  tobacco 
growing;  the  other,  the  exploitation  of  the  hinter- 
land. 

Of  the  economic  opportunities  offered  by  the  West 
the  most  important  at  this  early  date  was  the  Indian 

'^'^'^  Jesuit  Relations,  vol.  Ixv,  115,  206;  Charlevoix,  P.  F.  X.  de.  History 
of  Ne^w  France,  vol.  v,  124. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  93 

trade.  An  examination  of  the  documents  here  col- 
lected shows  that  without  exception  every  exploring 
expedition  or  project  concerning  which  there  exists 
any  considerable  information  was  in  some  degree  in- 
spired by  the  wish  to  share  in  the  profits  of  the  lucra- 
tive fur-trade,  l^he  large  financial  returns  which  it 
afforded,  especially  when  carried  on  in  virgin  terri- 
tory and  among  tribes  still  naive  in  their  valuations, 
need  not  be  enlarged  upon.  These  early  adventures 
secured  for  the  Virginians  the  trade  of  the  southern 
piedmont  and  Appalachians,  and  a  share  of  that  of 
the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Valleys. 

The  search  for  mines  was  the  economic  motive  next 
perhaps  in  importance.  Nothing  of  mineral  value 
was  found  by  them,  but  from  the  very  earliest  men- 
tion of  a  desire  to  explore  the  mountains  throughout 
the  period  under  consideration,  the  prospect  of  find- 
ing mineral  wealth  is  brought  forward  and  reiterated 
as  a  leading  reason  for  explorations.  Visions  of  gold, 
silver,  copper,  and  other  mineral  riches  lured  the 
imaginations  of  the  Virginians  even  after  a  century 
of  disappointment,  and  William  Byrd,  on  his  journey 
to  "Eden,"  found  people  on  the  Roanoke  and  Dan 
Rivers  fairly  crazy  on  the  mine  question  -  and  shared 
the  dementia  himself."' 

A  surer  basis  for  gain  in  the  development  of  the 
new  regions  lay  in  the  soil  itself.  Bland,  Lederer, 
and  Fallam  noted  the  character  of  the  soil  and  prod- 
ucts and  indications  as  to  climate  in  the  country 
which  they  traversed.  Other  explorers  from  whom 
there  are  less  detailed  accounts  were  doubtless  equally 

112  Byrd,  William.  IVritings,  283,  284-285,  286,  288-289,  291,  304,  306- 
307.  309,  321. 


94  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

interested.  The  peculiar  situation  in  Virginia  lies  in 
the  fact  that  all  the  leading  fur-traders  were  planters 
as  well,  and  naturally  turned  to  the  soil.  While  the 
other  planters  were  decrying  the  traders,  the  latter 
were  themselves  considering  the  settlement  of  the  new 
and  pleasant  lands  with  which  their  men  had  famil- 
iarized them.  The  right  to  first  choice  of  lands  was 
one  of  the  benefits  always  conferred  in  the  concessions 
by  the  Assembly  to  explorers.  By  1674  the  piedmont 
had  become  sufficiently  known  to  be  ready  for  the 
agricultural  settler.  Plans  for  extensive  colonization 
beyond  the  fall  line  began  with  Bland  and  grew  more 
and  more  numerous  toward  the  end  of  the  century. 
The  process  of  the  engrossment  of  land  in  western  Vir- 
ginia was  pushed  so  rapidly  and  successfully,  that  the 
land  speculators  could  seize  the  opportunity  offered 
by  the  crowds  of  Scotch-Irish  and  Germans  landing 
in  America  in  the  eighteenth  century,  to  turn  the 
stream  of  immigration  towards  the  great  valley.  It 
was  from  the  successors  of  Bland,  Byrd,  and  Wood 
that  the  new-comers  bought  their  farms. ^^^ 

In  this  analysis,  the  purpose  which  is  most  persist- 
ently put  forward  by  the  explorers  themselves  should 
not  be  omitted,  even  though  it  was  unattainable.  In 
French  Canada  and  in  the  English  colonies,  the  hope 
of  discovering  a  water  communication  across  the  con- 
tinent persisted  for  generations,  and  explorers  went  in 
every  direction  and  underwent  countless  hardships 
and  dangers  in  the  pursuit  of  this  will-o'-the-wisp. 
The  motive  cannot,  therefore,  be  passed  over  in  si- 
lence, for,  although  there  was  no  possibility  of  finding 

113  Turner,  "The  Old  West,"  Wisconsin  Historical  Society  Proceedings, 

1908,  pp.  198-207,  and  citations  therein  given. 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  95 

such  a  water  course,  still  the  search  for  it  was  of  un- 
told value  in  increasing  the  knowledge  of  the  world. 
The  grandeur  of  the  enterprise  has  without  doubt  ap- 
pealed to  men  and  governments  which  might  not  have 
been  moved  to  action  by  the  hope  of  the  more  solid 
benefits  of  the  fur-trade. 

The  motives  behind  these  explorations  were  almost 
purely  economic.  Political  designs  scarcely  entered  - 
though  they  are  occasionally  mentioned  -  because  the 
rivalry  with  Spain  had  now  practically  ceased  and 
that  with  France  was  just  beginning.  Mere  love  of 
adventure  doubtless  helped  in  securing  such  men  as 
Needham  for  the  field  force,  and  it  may  be  supposed, 
helped  to  tinge  the  undertaking  with  pleasure  for  the 
rest,  as  it  would  for  any  group  of  men  of  action. 

In  their  manifest  attention  to  the  overshadowing 
strength  of  the  agricultural  settlements  made  by  the 
English,  political  historians  have  somewhat  over- 
looked or  done  injustice  to  a  movement,  the  fuller 
knowledge  of  which  must  revise  our  statement  of  the 
bases  of  the  French  and  English  claims  to  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Ohio  Valleys.  Economic  historians  of  Vir- 
ginia, intent  upon  the  plantation  system  and  labor 
matters,  tend  also  to  neglect  this  important  factor  in 
the  economic  development  of  the  colony.  The  truth 
is  that  upon  the  agricultural  base  of  the  English  settle- 
ments was  imposed  an  English  counterpart  of  New 
France,  with  all  the  throbbing  and  varied  life  of  its 
rival. 

Although  historians  have  so  completely  ignored 
the  achievements  of  these  Virginians  that  their  names 
are  almost  unknown  and  the  explorations  of  James 
Needham  are  now  for  the  first  time  given  a  place  in 


96  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

history,  yet  the  British  public  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury still  retained  the  remembrance  of  their  deeds. 
When  the  question  of  the  right  to  the  Ohio  Valley 
came  to  an  issue  between  France  and  England,  each 
country  sought  for  proofs  of  her  right  by  priority  of 
discovery.  France  could  find  nothing  among  the 
papers  of  her  great  explorer,  La  Salle;  but  England 
possessed  the  proof  of  the  exploration  of  Batts  and 
Fallam,  and  her  people  had  long  become  familiar 
with  the  region  through  their  numerous  successors. 
What  Englishmen  had  so  long  possessed  could  not  be 
lightly  abandoned. 

The  final  decision  concerning  the  dominion  over 
the  region  was  not  reached  by  the  muster  of  legal 
proof;  that  was  an  issue  to  be  decided  by  war  alone; 
and  even  today,  the  historian,  considering  the  uncer- 
tainty and  complexity  of  the  question  of  dominion 
based  on  priority  of  discovery,  must  hesitate  to  pro- 
nounce judgment.  The  British  title  to  the  Ohio  Val- 
ley seems  as  equitable  as  that  of  the  French  to  the 
Mississippi,  for  her  hardy  adventurers  had  equalled 
the  deeds  of  the  French,  if  difficulty  alone  is  consid- 
ered, and  had  placed  the  insignia  of  their  king  upon 
the  banks  of  the  New  River.  Almost  contempo- 
raneously both  nations  staked  their  claim  in  the  wil- 
derness, the  right  to  which  was  not  to  be  determined 
until  after  the  lapse  of  nearly  one  hundred  years;  and 
France,  in  disputing  the  justice  of  the  English  claim 
to  the  Ohio  Valley,  cast  into  the  scales  of  war  all  her 
possessions  in  America. 

The  names  of  Wood,  Batts,  Fallam,  and  Needham 
have  not  been  honored  by  history  as  have  those  of 


The  Discovery  of  the  Ohio  Waters  97 

Joliet,  Marquette,  and  La  Salle;  yet  the  waters  they 
discovered,  although  they  re-echoed  for  a  period  with 
the  gay  songs  of  the  French  voyageurs^  now  flow  past 
cities  which  hum  with  the  business  activities  of  men 
of  English  speech.  These  Virginians  "builded  better 
than  they  knew,"  and,  in  spite  of  the  injustice  of  his- 
tory, the  Greater  West  is  a  monument  to  their 
achievements. 


I 

Encouragement  from  the  Assembly 

Act  of  the  Assembly,  March,  1642/3 
Order  of  the  Assembly,  November,  1652 
Order  of  the  Assembly,  July,  1653 
Order  of  the  Assembly  [1658?] 
Order  of  the  Assembly,  March,  1659/60 


Encouragement  from  the  Assembly 
Act  of  Assembly,  March,  1642/3  ''* 

For  as  much  as  Walter  Austin,  Rice  Hoe/^"'  Joseph 
Johnson  and  Walter  Chiles  for  themselves  and  such 
others  as  they  shall  think  fitt  to  joyn  with  them,  did 
petition  in  the  Assembly  in  June  1641  for  leave  and 
encouragement  to  undertake  the  discovery  of  a  new 
river  or  unknowne  land  bearing  west  southerly  from 
Appomattake  river,  Be  it  enacted  and  confirmed^  that 
they  and  every  of  them  and  whome  they  admitt 
shall  enjoy  and  possess  to  them  their  heires,  executors 
or  administrators  or  assigns  all  profitt  whatsoever 
they  in  their  particular  adventure  can  make  unto 
themselves  by  such  discovery  aforesaid,  for  fourteen 
years  after  the  date  of  the  said  month  January  1641, 

11'*  Printed  from  Hening,  Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  262.  An  act  practically- 
identical  with  this  is  printed  in  the  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Bio- 
graphy, vol.  ix,  55.  It  is  drawn  from  a  contemporary  manuscript  in  the 
possession  of  the  Virginia  Historical  Society-,  and  probably  came  originally 
from  an  order  book  of  Charles  City  County.  The  confusion  of  dates  is 
probably  due  to  two  mistakes:  the  misreading  of  "Jan."  as  "June"  where  it 
first  occurs,  and  the  assignment  by  the  other  transcriber  of  the  date  of  the 
petition  to  the  act. 

All  the  petitioners  save  Rice  Hooe  were  burgesses  for  Charles  City 
County  in  1641.     Virginia  Magazine,  vol.  ix,  51. 

115  Rice  Hooe  was  born  about  1599,  and  came  to  \'irginia  in  1635;  was 
burgess  for  Shirley  Hundred  Island  in  1642,  and  for  Charles  Cit>-  Count}-  in 
1644,  1645,  3nd  1646.  Beginning  in  1637,  several  large  land  patents  in  his 
favor  are  preserved.  For  full  sketch  of  his  life,  see  Virginia  Magazine  of 
History  and  Biography,  vol.  iv,  427.  For  the  family  pedigree  see  Hayden, 
Virginia  Genealogies. 


I02  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


Provided  there  be  reserved  and  paid  unto  his 
majesty's  use  by  them  that  shall  be  appointed  to  re- 
ceive the  same,  the  fifth  part  Royall  Mines  whatso- 
ever, Provided  also,  that  if  they  shall  think  fitt  to 
employ  more  than  two  or  three  men  in  the  said  dis- 
covery that  they  shall  then  do  it  by  commission  from 
the  Governour  and  Counsell. 

Order  of  Assembly,  November,  16^2  "® 

Whereas  an  act  was  made  in  the  Assembly,  1642, 
For  Encouragement  of  discoveries  to  the  westward 
and  southward  of  this  country,  granting  them  all 
profitts  arising  thereby  for  fourteen  years,  which  act 
is  since  discontinued  and  made  void;  It  is  by  this  As- 
sembly ordered.  That  Coll.  Wm.  Clayborne,  Esq/'' 
and  Capt.  Henry  Fleet,  they  and  their  associats  with 
them  either  joyntly  or  severally.  May  discover  and 
shall  enjoy  such  benefitts,  profitts,  and  trades,  for 
fourteen  years  as  they  shall  find  out  in  places  where 
no  English  ever  have  bin  and  discovered,  nor  have 
had  perticular  trade,  and  to  take  up  such  lands  by  pat- 
tents  proveing  their  rights  as  they  shall  think  good: 
Neverthelesse  not  excluding  others  after  their  choice 
from  takeing  up  lands,  and  planting  in  these  new  dis- 
covered places,  as  in  Virginia  is  now  used. 

The  like  order  is  granted  to  Major  Abra.  Wood 
and  his  associates. 

116  Printed  from  Hening,  Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  376.  Original  source 
the  Randolph  Mss. 

iiT  William  Clayborne  is  the  well-known  p a rli amenta rv-  commissioner 
and  disturber  of  the  province  of  Maryland.  Consult  index  of  any  extended 
work  on  Virginia  history. 


Encouragement  from  the  Assembly  103 

Order  of  Assembly,  July,  7^5 J  "" 

Whereas  diverse  gentlemen  have  a  voluntarie  de- 
sire to  discover  the  Mountains  and  supplicated  for 
lycence  to  this  Assembly,  It  is  ordered  by  this  As- 
sembly, That  order  be  granted  unto  any  for  soe  doing, 
Provided  they  go  with  a  considerable  partie  and 
strength  both  of  men  and  amunition. 

Order  of  Assembly  [l6s8?Y"' 

Whereas  Major  William  Lewis  preferred  a  peti- 
tion to  the  house  therein  requesting  that  a  Comission 
might  be  granted  unto  them,  Mr.  Anthony  Langston 
and  Major  William  Harris,^'"  to  discover  the  Moun- 
taines  and  Westward  parts  of  the  Country  and  to  en- 
deavour the  finding  out  of  any  Commodities  that 
might  probably  tend  to  the  benefitt  of  this  Country. 

"It  is  ordered  for  encouragement  to  them  and 
others  that  shall  be  of  the  like  publique  and  Generous 
Spiritts  that  a  Comission  shall  be  granted  them  to  au- 
thorize their  Undertakings  and  all  such  Gentlemen 
as  shall  voluntarily  accompany  them  in  the  said  dis- 


coverie." 


ii**  Printed  from  Hening,  Statutes  at  Large,  vol.  i,  381.    Randolph  Mss. 

11^  Printed  from  the  Virginia  Magazine  of  History  and  Biography,  vol. 
viii,  391.  Contained  in  the  Randolph  Mss.  but  not  printed  by  Hening.  The 
date  is  not  stated,  but  from  the  location  in  the  volume  appears  to  be  1658. 

^-'>  Major  William  Harris  is  the  same  who  accompanied  Lederer  on  his 
second  expedition.  He  received  his  rank  in  December,  1656,  was  Abraham 
Wood's  subordinate  in  the  Charles  City  Count\'  regiment,  and  is  again  men- 
tioned in  the  militia  records  of  that  county,  July  2,  1661.  Hening,  Statutes  at 
Large,  vol.  i,  426;  Jf'illiam  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  iv,  167-168. 


I04  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

Order  of  Assembly,  March,  idSQ/Oo  ''' 

Whereas  it  hath  been  formerly  granted  by  act  of 
Assemblie  in  one  thousand,  six  hundred  and  fourty 
and  one,  And  by  order  of  Assembly  in  one  thousand, 
six  hundred,  fifty  and  two,  for  encouragement  of  dis- 
coverers to  the  westward  and  southward  of  this  coun- 
trey,  granting  all  profitts  ariseing  thereby  for  fourteen 
yeeres.  It  is  by  this  Assembly  ordered^  That  Mr.  Fran- 
cis Hamond  and  his  associates  either  joyntly  or  sever- 
ally may  discover.  And  shall  enjoy  such  benefitts,  pro- 
fitts and  trades  for  fourteen  yeeres  as  he  or  they  have 
found  or  shall  find  out  in  places  where  no  English 
ever  have  been  or  discovered  or  have  had  perticular 
trade.  And  to  take  up  such  lands  by  pattents  (proving 
their  rights)  as  they  shall  think  good,  not  excluding 
others  after  their  choice  (from  takeing  up  lands  and 
planting  in  those  now  new  discovered  places  as  in  Vir- 
ginia now  is  used)  But  wholly  from  the  trade  during 
the  said  fourteen  yeeres,  that  being  wholly  appro- 
priated to  the  said  Francis  Hamond  and  his  associates. 


121  Printed  from  Hening,  Statutes  at  Large,  vol,  i,  548. 


II 

The  Discovery  of  New  Brittaine 

Edward  Bland's  The  Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  ^-^ 


1-2  Printed  from  a  transcript  made  in  Washington  of  a  "first  edition"  in 
the  Congressional  Library.  It  has  been  reprinted  by  Sabin,  N.Y.,  1873.  The 
reprint  omits  the  dedication  to  Sir  John  Danvers.  It  has  been  recently  re- 
printed in  Salley,  Narratives  of  Early  Carolina,  5  et  seg. 


THE 

DISCOVERY 


O  F 


New  Brittaine. 

Begun  tJu(^uH  iy»  JnnoT>om.   1630, 

C  Edward  Bltnd^  Mcrcha nt.  ^^ 

J.  ^tyiiraham  JV^de^  Captainc.        *'" 

From  Fcrt  Menrj,  at  the  head  of /jW^4- 
mattuc{  Kiver  in  Virginia,  to  the  Fals 

.  cf^Biandihafivd  River  in  JA^Vw  Br/V- 
/<3//^e  ,  which  runneth  Weft  ■  being 
120.  Mile  South' weft  ,  between  ^5. 
6c  ^7  degrees, Ca pleafant  Country,} 
ot  temperate  Ayr e,  and  fertile  Soylc. 


Printed  by  Thtmas  Harper  fpr  John  Stephenfon  ,  at  the 
Svui  below  Ludgacc,    i^,1>c»lfl,         ^ 


FaCSIMILK   of  original   TITLE-FAGli  OF   "The    DISCOVERY 

OF  New  Brittaine" 


To  THE 

honoil'\ble, 
Sir 
John  Dan  vers, 
Knight: 
Great  Favourer  of  the  Westerne  Planta- 
tions, and  a  Member  of  the  Par- 
liament of  England. 
Noble  Sir  :     The  great  Incouragement  that  I  have 
found  from  your  Worthy  selfe  to  propogate  the  Pub- 
lique  Afifaires,  as  v^^ell  Forraigne  as  Domestique,  hath 
imbolned  mee  to  presume  humbly  to  present  this  small 
Piece  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Westerne  Part  of  Vir- 
ginia, wherein  you  shall  find  by  the  Industry  of  the 
Surveyors  of  that  Part,  the  great  Benefit  that  may  ac- 
crew  to  the  English   Plantation;  in   regard  of  the 
many  and  severall   Commodities   that  may  thence 
arise,  by  reason  of  the  fertility  of  the  Soyle,  Nature 
having  provided  so  plentifully  for  all  things,  that 
with  no  extraordinary  great  Charge  it  may  be  affect- 
ed, to  the  great  Profit,  and  more  Glory  of  this  Eng- 
lish Nation:     And  whereas  your  selfe  hath  beene, 
and  still  are  a  Chiefe  Agent  in  that,  and  other  Planta- 
tions, so  (under  God)  you  may  be  a  meanes  for  con- 
verting divers  of  those  poor  Indians  to  the  Christian 
Faith.     For  the  World  doth  take  notice  you  observe 
the  Orators  saying ;  That  you  were  not  borne  for  your 
selfe,  but  for  your  Country:     Which  that  you  may 


no  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

ever  doe,  shall  be  the  Prayer,  Sir,  Of  your  most 
humble  servant,  J-  S. 

To  THE  Reader:  Who  ever  thou  art  that  desirest 
the  Advancement  of  God's  glory  by  conversion  of  the 
Indians,  the  Augmentation  of  the  English  Common- 
wealth, in  extending  its  liberties;  I  would  advise  thee 
to  consider  the  present  benefit  and  future  profits  that 
will  arise  in  the  wel  setling  Virginia's  Confines,  es- 
pecially that  happy  Country  of  New  Brittaine,  in  the 
Latitude  of  thirty-five  and  thirty-seven  degrees,  of 
more  temperate  Clymate  than  that  the  English  now 
inhabite,  abounding  with  great  Rivers  of  long  extent, 
and  encompassing  a  great  part,  or  most  of  Virginia's 
Continent;  a  place  so  easie  to  be  settled  in,  in  regard 
that  Horse  and  Cattle  in  foure  or  five  dayes  may  be 
conveyed  for  the  Benefit  of  Undertakers,  and  all  in- 
conveniencies  avoyded  which  commonly  attend  New 
Plantations,  being  supplied  with  necessaries  from  the 
Neighbourhood  of  Virginia. 

That  the  Assembly  of  Virginia  (as  may  be  scene 
by  their  Order  since  my  returne  heereto  procured) 
have  conceived  a  hundred  to  be  a  sufficient  force  and 
competence  for  the  establishment  of  that  Country  in 
which  Tobacco  will  grow  larger  and  more  in  quan- 
tity. Sugar  Canes  are  supposed  naturally  to  be  there, 
or  at  least  if  implanted  will  undoubtedly  flourish: 
For  we  brought  with  us  thence  extraordinary  Canes 
of  twenty- five  foot  long  and  six  inches  round;  there  is 
also  great  store  of  fish,  and  the  Inhabitants  relate  that 
there  is  plenty  of  Salt  made  to  the  sunne  without  art; 
Tobacco  Pipes  have  beene  scene  among  these  Indians 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  iii 

tipt  with  Silver,  and  they  weare  Copper  Plates  about 
their  necks:  They  have  two  Crops  of  Indian  Corne 
yearely,  whereas  Virginia  hath  but  one.  What  I  write, 
is  what  I  have  proved;  I  cordially  wish  some  more 
then  private  Spirits  would  take  it  into  their  con- 
sideration, so  may  it  prove  most  advantagious  to  par- 
ticular and  publick  ends;  for  which  so  prayeth,  Your 
faithfull  servant,  Edward  Bland/'' 


^23  Edward  Bland  was  an  English  merchant  who  had  been  engaged  in 
the  Spanish  trade.  He  came  to  Virginia  in  1643,  and  resided  at  Kimages, 
his  estate  of  eight  thousand  acres,  in  Charles  City  County.  There  he  died 
and  was  buried  in  1653.  Bland  Papers,  vol.  i,  147;  genealogy,  ibid.,  vol.  i, 
145-149.  Harleian  Society  Publications,  vol.  xx.xviii ;  Familiae  Minorum 
Gentium,  vol.  ii,  421,  et  seq.,  gives  in  full  the  genealogy  of  the  English  and 
Virginia  Blands.     Ibid.,  423,  notice  of  Edward  Bland. 


October  20,  l6S0.     By  the  Assembly 

It  is  Ordered  by  the  Grand  Assembly,  that  accord- 
ing to  the  Petition  of  Mr.  Edward  Bland,  Merchant, 
that  he  the  sayd  Bland,  or  any  other  be  permitted  to 
discover  and  seate  to  the  Southward  in  any  conven- 
ient place  where  they  discover;  and  that  according 
to  his  Petition  for  furthering  his  Designes  hee  bee 
permitted  to  have  correspondence  with  the  Indians, 
and  also  receive  the  benevolence  of  the  well-affected, 
and  use  all  lawfull  meanes  for  effecting  thereof,  pro- 
vided that  they  secure  themselves  in  effecting  the  sayd 
Designe  with  a  hundred  able  men  sufficiently  fur- 
nished with  Armes  and  Munition. 

John  Corkes,  Cler.  Dom.  Com. 

Sir  Walter  Rawleigh's  Observation  on  thirty-five 
degrees  Latitude. 

Paradise  was  created  a  part  of  this  Earth,  and 
seated  in  the  lower  part  of  Eden  or  Mesopotamia, 
containing  also  a  part  of  Shinar  and  Armenia;  it 
stands  thirty-five  degrees  from  the  Equinoctiall,  and 
fifty-five  from  the  North-pole,  in  a  temperate  Cli- 
mate, full  of  excellent  fruits,  chiefely  of  Palme-trees 
without  labour;  for  whereinsoever  the  Earth,  Na- 
ture, and  the  Sun  can  most  vaunt  that  they  have 
excelled,  yet  shall  the  Palme-tree  be  the  greatest  won- 
der of  all  their  workes:    This  tree  alone  giveth  unto 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  113 

man  whatsoever  his  life  beggeth  at  Nature's  hand. 
The  like  are  also  found  both  in  the  East  and  West- 
Indies  as  well  as  in  Paradise,  which  countries  are  also 
blessed  with  a  perpetuall  Spring  and  Summer,  etc. 
Rawleigh's  Marroiv  of  History^  Page  42. 

By  how  much  Adam  exceeded  all  living  men  in 
perfection,  by  being  the  immediate  workmanship  of 
God,  by  so  much  did  that  chosen,  and  particular  Gar- 
den exceed  all  the  parts  of  the  Universall  World  in 
which  God  had  planted  the  Trees  of  Life,  and  knowl- 
edge, Plants  onely  proper,  and  belonging  to  the  Para- 
dise, and  Garden,  of  so  great  a  Lord.     Ibid.,  page  43- 


The  Discovery  of  New  Britaine 

August  2J,  lOso.  The  Right  Honorable  Sir  W. 
Berkly,  Kt.  being  Governour  and  Captaine  Generall 
of  Virginia,  Edw.  Bland  Merch.  Abraham  Wood, 
Capt.  Elias  Ponnant  and  Sackford  Brewster,  Gent.,''* 
foure  Men,  and  one  Indian  named  Pyancha,  an  Ap- 
pamattuck  '"^  for  our  Guide,  with  two  servants,  foure 
Horses  and  Provision,  advanced  from  Fort  Henry, 
lying  on  Appamattuck  River  at  the  fals,  being  a 
branch  of  James  River,  intending  a  South  westerne 
Discovery. 

This  day  wee  passed  over  a  branch  belonging  to 
Blackwater  lake,  running  South  east  into  Chawan 
River;  at  that  place  wee  were  forced  to  unlade  our 
Carriages  by  reason  of  the  great  raines  lately  fallen, 
which  otherwise  is  very  passable  for  foot,  being  firm 
gravelly  ground  in  the  bottome,  and  lieth  from  Fort 
Henry  twenty  miles,  and  some  twelve  miles  from  this 
place  we  travelled  unto  a  deepe  River  called  the  Not- 

124  The  Brewsters  were  a  Suffolk  family,  gentrj^  of  consideration  for  a 
long  period.  See  Augustine  Page,  History  of  Suffolk,  283.  Sackford 
Brewster  of  Sackford  Hall,  Suffolk,  lived  in  Surry  County-,  Virginia,  and 
married  there.  William  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  iv,  passim ;  consult 
index. 

1-5  For  all  the  Indian  tribes  mentioned  in  this  volume,  consult  the  Hand- 
book of  American  Indians,  Bulletin  30,  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology. 
Where  no  article  is  found  entered  under  the  name  given  in  the  present 
volume,  turn  to  the  synonymy  at  the  end  of  Part  11  of  the  Handbook.  A  very 
few  names,  occurring  in  rare  or  hitherto  unpublished  narratives,  will  not  be 
found. 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  1 15 

taway  Creeke  some  one  hundred  paces  over  sandy 
bottomes  (and  with  a  little  labour  may  be  made  passe- 
able)  unto  a  Nottaway  Town  lying  some  two  miles 
from  the  River.  Hither  we  came  within  night,  and 
by  reason  of  our  suddaine  approach  and  hallowing 
of  Robert  Farmer,  servant  to  Mr.  Bland,  the  Inhabi- 
tants ran  all  away  into  the  Woods,  with  their  Women 
and  Children;  therefore  by  us  it  was  named  Farmers 
Chase.  After  our  arrivall  there  within  a  small  space 
of  time  one  Indian  man  appeared,  and  finding  of  us 
peaceable,  and  the  white  flag  bore  before  us  by  our 
Guide  whom  they  knew,  he  made  a  hallow  and  the 
rest  came  in  from  their  sculking  holes  like  so  many 
timerous  Hares,  and  shewed  us  what  curtesie  they 
could.  About  two  houres  after  came  to  us  Oyeocker 
elder  brother  to  Chounterounte  one  of  the  Nottaway 
Kings,  who  told  us  that  his  brother  Chounterounte, 
and  other  of  the  Nottaway  Kings  would  come  to  us 
next  day  by  Noone,  and  that  the  day  before  Choun- 
terounte and  all  his  men  had  been  a  hunting,  and  it 
hapned  that  Chounterounte  had  shot  one  of  his  broth- 
ers in  the  leg,  and  that  thereupon  he  was  gone  downe- 
wards.  We  stayed  untill  next  day  at  Noone  but  he 
came  not,  and  then  we  journyed  unto  the  Towne  be- 
longing unto  Oyeocker,  who  kindly  invited  us  thither, 
and  told  us  he  thought  that  Chounterounte  would 
meet  us  there,  and  also  of  his  owne  accord  proffered 
us  to  be  our  guide  whithersoever  we  went.  The  Land 
generally  to  this  Towne  is  Champion,  very  rich,  and 
the  Towne  scituate  in  a  rich  levell,  well  timbered, 
watered,  and  very  convenient  for  Hogs  and  Cattle. 
August  28.     We  journied  with  our  new  entertain- 


ii6  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

ed  Guide  Oyeocker,  lying  betweene  South,  and  South 
and  by  West,  from  the  first  Towne  upon  a  very  rich 
levell  of  Land :  sixteen  miles  from  this  place  we  came 
unto  the  River  Penna  Mount,  being  another  branch 
of  Chawan  River,  eight  miles  on  the  South  side  it 
hath  very  rich  Land  and  Corn-fields  on  both  sides  the 
River,  and  is  about  some  two  hundred  paces  wide,  and 
runs  out  with  elbowes:  at  the  place  of  our  passage 
over  this  River  to  this  second  Towne  is  shallow  upon 
a  Sandy  Point,  and  with  a  very  little  labour  may  be 
made  passeable  both  for  foot  and  horse,  or  any  Car- 
riage by  Land,  or  pentater  with  small  Boats,  and  some 
two  miles  higher  there  is  a  sound  passage  no  deeper 
then  a  mans  anckle.  Within  night  came  Chounter- 
ounte  unto  our  Quarters  frowning,  and  with  a  coun- 
tenance noting  much  discontent,  downe  he  sets,  and 
lookes  about  him,  salutes  the  English  with  a  scorne- 
full  posture,  and  then  our  Appamattack  Guide,  and 
tels  him,  I  am  sorry  for  thee  friend,  thou  wilt  be 
knockt  on  the  head;  after  this  some  pause  was  made 
before  any  discourse,  expecting  the  English  would 
begin,  but  finding  us  slow,  he  thus  spake:  There 
was  a  Wainoake  Indian  told  him  that  there  was  an 
Englishman,  a  Cockarous'^"  hard  by  Captaine  Floods, 
gave  this  Indian  Bells,  and  other  petty  truck  to  lay 
downe  to  the  Tuskarood  '"  King,  and  would  have 
hired  him  to  have  gone  with  him,  but  the  Wainoakes 
being  doubtfull  what  to  doe,  went  to  Captaine  Flood 
for  advice,  who  advised  them  not  to  go,  for  that  the 
Governour  would  give  no  licence  to  go  thither;  heere 
upon  Chounterounte  was  by  us  questioned,  when  and 

126  A  brave  fellow.    Beverley,  History  of  Virginia,  131. 

127  Tuscarora. 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  117 

who  it  was  that  had  told  him  so,  and  if  he  did  know 
that  Wainoake  Indian,  to  which  he  answered  doubt- 
fully, and  demanded  of  us  whither  we  did  intend  to 
go;  we  told  him  the  Tuskarood  King  had  envited  us 
to  trade,  and  our  Governour  had  ordered  us  to  go, 
and  speake  with  an  Englishman  amongst  them,  and 
to  enquire  for  an  English  woman  cast  away  long 
since,  and  was  amongst  those  Nations.  Chounterounte 
perswaded  us  to  go  no  further,  alleadging  there  was 
no  English  there,  that  the  way  was  long,  for  passage 
very  bad  by  reason  of  much  raine  that  had  lately 
fallen,  and  many  rotten  Marrishes  and  Swampps  there 
was  to  passe  over,  in  fine  we  found  him,  and  all  his 
men  very  unwilling  we  should  go  any  further;  but 
we  told  them,  that  let  the  waies  and  passages  be  never 
so  bad,  we  were  resolved  to  go  through,  and  that  we 
were  not  afraid  of  him  nor  his  Nation,  nor  any  other, 
for  we  intended  no  injury,  and  that  we  must  go,  for 
we  were  commanded  by  our  King;  these  words 
caused  Chounterounte  to  assimulate  a  feare  in  his 
countenance,  and  after  delivery  of  himselfe,  at  our 
going  away  next  day,  when  we  had  mounted  our 
Horses,  Chounterounte  came  privately  unto  us,  and 
in  a  most  serious  manner  intimating  unto  us,  that  he 
loved  us,  and  our  Nation,  and  that  he  lively  appre- 
hended our  danger,  and  that  our  safety  concerned 
him,  for  if  any  accident  hapned  otherwise  then  good 
to  us,  he  should  be  suspected  to  have  a  hand  in  it,  and 
withal  wished  us  to  go  no  further,  for  that  he  certain- 
ly knew  that  the  Nations  we  were  to  go  through 
would  make  us  away  by  treachery;  we  answered  him, 
that  we  were  not  afraid  to  be  killed,  for  that  any  one 
of  us  were  able  to  deale  with  forty  through  the  pro- 


ii8  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

tection  of  our  great  God,  for  we  were  commanded  by 
our  King. 

August  2Q.  We  travelled  from  this  second  Town 
to  Maharineck,^"*  eight  miles  upon  barren  Champion 
Lands,  and  six  miles  further  is  a  branch  that  runnes 
South  west,  with  rich  Lands  upon  it;  and  from  thence 
some  six  miles  further,  is  a  Brooke  some  hundred 
paces  over,  and  runnes  South  and  a  little  to  the  West, 
on  both  sides  df  the  Creek:  for  fowre  miles  or  there- 
abouts is  very  rich  Lands,  well  Timbered  and 
Watered,  and  large  dry  Meadowes,  South  and  by 
West:  From  this  Creeke  is  another,  some  eight 
miles  oflf,  that  opens  it  selfe  into  divers  small 
Guts,  made  by  the  inundation  of  Freshes  of 
Waters;  and  the  passage  lies  some  two  hundred  paces 
from  the  Path,  and  this  Creek  is  some  ten  miles  from 
Maharinecke  Towne,  and  was  by  us  named  New- 
combs  Forrest.  It  was  night  when  we  entred  into 
Maharineck,  where  we  found  a  House  ready  made 
for  us  of  Matts;  and  Corne  stalkes  layd  in  severall 
places  for  our  Horses,  the  Inhabitants  standing,  ac- 
cording to  their  custome,  to  greet  us:  and  after  some 
discourse  with  their  Werrowance,  a  Youth,  to  whom 
wee  presented  severall  gifts,  we  certified  them  the 
cause  of  our  comming  was  to  Trade  in  way  of  friend- 
ship, and  desired  the  great  men  that  what  Wares  or 
Skins  the  Town  did  afiford,  might  be  brought  to  our 
Quarters  next  morning;  and  also  a  measure  for  Ro- 
anoak.  which  they  promised  should  be  done,  and  so 
left  us  to  our  selves  a  while,  untill  wee  had  refreshed 
our  selves  with  such  provisions  as  they  had  set  before 
us,  in  most  plentiful!  maner;  and  afterwards  the  great 

128  Meherrin. 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  119 

men  and  Inhabitants  came,  and  performed  divers 
Ceremonies,  and  Dancings  before  us,  as  they  use  to 
doe  to  their  great  Emperour  Apachancano,  when  they 
entertain  him  in  most  solemne  maner  and  friendship. 

August  JO.  Being  wearied  with  our  last  dayes 
travell,  we  continued  at  Maharineck,  and  this  day 
spake  with  a  Tuskarood  Indian,  who  told  us  that  the 
Englishman  was  a  great  way  off  at  the  further  Tuska- 
rood Towne,  and  wee  hired  this  Turkarood  Indian  to 
run  before,  and  tell  his  Werrowance  wee  intended  to 
lay  him  downe  a  present  at  Hocomowananck,  and  de- 
sired to  have  him  meete  us  there,  and  also  wrote  to 
that  efifect  to  the  Englishman  in  English,  Latine, 
Spanish,  French  and  Dutch,  the  Tuskarood  prom- 
ised in  three  dayes  to  meete  us  at  Hocomawananck. 
In  the  afternoon  came  two  Indians  to  our  Quarters, 
one  of  whom  the  Maharinecks  told  us  w;^s  the  Wer- 
rowance of  Hocomawananck  River,  seemed  very  joy- 
full  that  wee  could  goe  thither,  and  told  us  the  Tusk- 
arood would  have  come  to  us  to  trade,  but  that  the 
Wainoakes  had  spoken  much  to  dishearten  them  from 
having  any  trade  with  the  English,  and  that  they  in- 
tended divers  times  to  have  come  in,  but  were  afraid, 
for  the  Wainoakes  had  told  them  that  the  English 
would  kill  them,  or  detaine  them,  and  would  not  let 
them  goe  without  a  great  heape  of  Roanoake  middle 
high,  to  which  we  answered  that  the  Wainoakes  durst 
not  affirme  any  such  thing  to  our  faces,  and  that  they 
had  likewise  spoken  much  against  the  Tuskarood  to 
the  English,  it  being  a  common  thing  amongst  them 
to  villefie  one  another,  and  tell  nothing  but  lies  to  the 
English. 

This  day  in  the  morning  the  Maharineck  great  men 


120  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

spake  to  heare  some  of  our  guns  go  off.  Whereupon 
we  shot  two  guns  at  a  small  marke,  both  hitting  it, 
and  at  so  great  a  distance  of  a  hundred  paces,  or  more, 
that  the  Indians  admired  at  it.  And  a  little  before 
night  the  old  King  Alaharineck  came  to  us,  and  told 
us,  that  the  people  in  the  Towne  were  afraid  when 
the  guns  went  off,  and  ran  all  away  into  the  Woods. 
This  night  also  we  had  much  Dancing. 

August  j*/.  Wee  went  away  from  Maharineck 
South  East  two  miles  to  go  over  Maharineck  River, 
which  hath  a  bottome  bet\veene  two  high  land  sides 
through  which  you  must  passe  to  get  over,  which 
River  is  about  two  hundred  paces  broad,  and  hath  a 
high  water  marke  after  a  fresh  of  at  least  twenty  foot 
perpendicular  by  the  trees  in  the  breaches  betweene 
the  River,  and  the  high  land  of  the  old  fields.  This 
River  is  the  southerly  last  and  maine  branch  of  Cha- 
wan  River,  and  was  by  us  named  Woodford  River, 
and  runs  to  the  Eastward  of  the  South.  On  both  sides 
of  Woodford  River  is  very  much  exceeding  rich 
Land,  but  especially  on  the  further  side  towards  Ho- 
comawananck.  Imediately  after  the  passage  over  this 
River,  are  old  Indian  fields  of  exceeding  rich  Land, 
that  beare  two  Crops  of  Indian  Corne  a  yeare  and 
hath  timber  trees  above  five  foot  over,  whose  truncks 
are  a  hundred  foot  in  cleare  timber,  which  will  make 
twenty  Cuts  of  Board  timber  a  piece,  and  of  these 
there  is  abundance. 

As  also  exceeding  rich  Land,  full  of  great  Reeds 
thrice  as  big  as  the  largest  Arrow  Reeds  we  have 
about  our  Plantations;  this  good  Land  continues  for 
some  six  miles  together  unto  a  great  Swampp,  and 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  121 

then  begins  a  pyny  barren  Champion  Land  with  div- 
ers Branches  and  Pecosans,  yet  very  passeable,  run- 
ning South  and  by  West,  unto  a  deepe  River  some  a 
hundred  paces  over,  running  South,  and  a  little  to  the 
East,  which  River  incloses  a  small  Island  which  wee 
named  Brewsters  Island,  some  eighteene  miles  from 
Woodford  River  due  South,  and  by  Westj  with  very 
exceeding  rich  Land  on  both  sides  of  it  for  some  sixe 
miles  together,  and  this  River  we  also  named  Brew- 
sters River,  it  being  the  first  branch  of  Hocomawan- 
anck  River:  and  a  little  lower  downe  as  the  River 
runs,  is  such  another  River  as  Chickahamine  River 
(which  is  a  mile  broad.) 

After  we  had  passed  over  this  River  we  travelled 
some  twenty  miles  further  upon  a  pyny  barren  Cham- 
pion Land  to  Hocomawananck  River,  South,  and  by 
West:  some  twelve  miles  from  Brewsters  River  we 
came  unto  a  path  running  crosse  some  twenty  yards 
on  each  side  unto  two  remarkeable  Trees;  at  this  path 
our  Appamattuck  Guide  made  a  stop,  and  cleared  the 
Westerly  end  of  the  path  with  his  foote,  being  de- 
manded the  meaning  of  it,  he  shewed  an  unwilling- 
nesse  to  relate  it,  sighing  very  much :  Whereupon  we 
made  a  stop  untill  Oyeocker  our  other  Guide  came 
up,  and  then  our  Appamattuck  Guide  journied  on; 
but  Oyeocker  at  his  comming  up  cleared  the  other 
end  of  the  path,  and  prepared  himselfe  in  a  most  seri- 
ous manner  to  require  our  attentions,  and  told  us  that 
many  years  since  their  late  great  Emperour  Ap- 
pachancano  came  thither  to  make  a  War  upon  the 
Tuskarood,  in  revenge  of  three  of  his  men  killed,  and 
one  wounded,  who  escaped,  and  brought  him  word  of 


122  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


the  other  three  murthered  by  the  Hocomawananck 
Indians  for  lucre  of  the  Roanoake  they  brought  with 
them  to  trade  for  Otterskins.     There  accompanyed 
Appachancano  severall  petty  Kings  that  were  under 
him,  amongst  which  there  was  one  King  of  a  Towne 
called  Pawhatan,  which  had  long  time  harboured  a 
grudge  against  the  King  of  Chawan,  about  a  yong 
woman  that  the  King  of  Chawan  had  detayned  of  the 
King  of  Pawhatan:  Now  it  hapned  that  the  King  of 
Chawan  was  invited  by  the  King  of  Pawhatan  to  this 
place  under  pretence  to  present  him  with  a  guift  of 
some  great  vallew,  and  there  they  met  accordingly, 
and  the  King  of  Pawhatan  went  to  salute  and  em- 
brace the  King  of  Chawan,  and  stroaking  of  him  after 
their  usuall  manner,  he  whipt  a  bow  string  about  the 
King  of  Chawans  neck,  and  strangled  him;  and  how 
that  in  memoriall  of  this,  the  path  is  continued  unto 
this  day,  and  the  friends  of  the  Pawhatans  when  they 
passe  that  way,  cleanse  the  Westerly  end  of  the  path, 
and  the  friends  of  the  Chawans  the  other.     And  some 
two  miles  from  this  path  we  came  unto  an  Indian 
Grave  upon  the  East  side  of  the  path:  Upon  which 
Grave  there  lay  a  great  heape  of  sticks  covered  with 
greene  boughs,  we  demanded  the  reason  of  it,  Oyeock- 
er  told  us,  that  there  lay  a  great  man  of  the  Chawans 
that  dyed  in  the  same  quarrell,  and  in  honour  of  his 
memory  they  continue  greene  boughs  over  his  Grave 
to  this  day,  and  ever  when  they  goe  forth  to  Warre 
they  relate  his,  and  others  valorous,  loyall  Acts,  to 
their  yong  men,  to  annimate  them  to  doe  the  like  when 
occasion   requires.     Some  foure  miles   from  Hoco- 
mawananck is  very  rich  Champian  Land:     It  was 
night  when  we  came  to  Hocomawananck  River,  and 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  123 

the  Indian  that  came  with  us  from  Woodford  Riv- 
er, and  belonged  to  Hocomawananck,  would  have 
had  us  quartered  upon  the  side  of  a  great  Swampp 
that  had  the  advantage  of  severall  bottomes  of  the 
Swampp  on  both  sides  of  us,  but  we  removed  to  take 
our  advantage  for  safety,  and  retreate,  in  case  any 
accident  should  happen,  which  at  that  time  promised 
nothing  but  danger,  for  our  Guides  began  to  be 
doubtfull,  and  told  us,  that  the  Hocomawananck  In- 
dians were  very  treacherous,  and  that  they  did  not 
like  their  countenances,  and  shape  well;  this  place 
we  named  Pyanchas  Parke:  about  three  houres  after 
we  had  taken  up  our  Quarters,  some  of  the  Inhabit- 
ants came,  and  brought  us  roasting  eares,  and  Stur- 
geon, and  the  Hocomawananck  Indian  that  came 
with  us  from  Woodford  River,  came  not  unto  us  untill 
next  day,  but  his  Warrowance  told  us  before  wee 
came  from  Woodford,  hee  could  not  come  untill  that 
day  at  night.  The  next  day  morning  after  our  com- 
ming  to  Hocomawananck  the  Inhabitants  seemed  to 
prepare  us  a  house.  But  we  about  eight  of  the  clock 
set  forward  to  goe  view  the  place  where  they  killed 
Sturgeon,  which  was  some  six  miles  from  the  place 
where  we  quartered  by  Pyanchas  Parke,  where  there 
is  a  River  Running  very  deep  South,  exceeding  deepe, 
and  foure  hundred  paces  broad:  The  high  water 
marke  of  this  River  between  both  sides  of  the  River 
perpendicular,  from  the  top  of  the  Banck  to  the  Riv- 
er, is  forty  five  foot  upon  a  fresh;  this  River  was  by 
us  named  Blandina  River:  from  Pyanchas  Parke  to 
the  place  where  they  kill  Sturgeon  is  six  miles  up  the 
River  running  Northerly,  and  all  exceeding  rich  land : 
Both  upwards  and  downewards  upon  the  River,  at 


124  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

this  place  where  they  kill  Sturgeon  also  are  the  Falls, 
and  at  the  foot  of  these  Falls  also  lies  two  Islands ''' 
in  a  great  Bay,  the  uppermost  whereof  Mr.  Blande 
named  Charles  Island,  and  the  lowermost  Captaine 
Wood  named  Berkeley  Island:  on  the  further  side 
of  these  Islands  the  Bay  runs  navigable  by  the  two 
Islands  sides:  Charles  Island  is  three  miles  broad, 
and  foure  miles  long,  and  Berkeley  Island  almost  as 
big,  both  in  a  manner  impregnable,  by  nature  being 
fortified  with  high  Clefts  of  Rocky  Stone,  and  hardly 
passeable,  without  a  way  cut  through  them,  and  con- 
sists all  of  exceeding  rich  Land,  and  cleare  fields, 
wherein  growes  Canes  of  a  foot  about,  and  of  one 
yeares  growth  Canes  that  a  reasonable  hand  can  hard- 
ly span ;  and  the  Indians  told  us  they  were  very  sweet, 
and  that  at  some  time  of  the  yeare  they  did  suck  them, 
and  eate  them,  and  of  those  we  brought  some  away 
with  us.  The  Land  over  against  Charles  Island  we 
named  Blands  Discovery,  and  the  Land  over  against 
Berkeley  Island  we  named  Woods  journy,  and  at  the 

129  These  U\o  islands  are  just  below  the  falls  of  the  Roanoke  River,  where 
it  is  formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  Dan  and  Staunton,  at  Clarksville,  Vir- 
ginia. They  are  now  called  Occoneechee  and  Totero,  respectively,  from  the 
Indian  tribes  which  afterward  occupied  them.  From  1673  and  perhaps 
earlier  (see  Introduction)  the  Occoneechee  fortified  themselves  in  the  one 
which  Bland  calls  Berkeley  Island,  and  by  reason  of  their  strategic  and  secure 
location  were  able  to  offer  great  annoyance  to  the  fur  trade  which  passed 
along  the  great  Trading  Path  into  the  Carolina  piedmont,  crossing  their 
island,  and  to  the  advance  of  agricultural  settlement  in  the  region.  As  a 
result.  Bacon  visited  them  there  in  1676  and  inflicted  a  terrible  defeat  upon 
them  [JVilliam  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  xi,  121].  Later  they  were  joined 
by  the  Toteros,  who  took  the  other  island  as  their  residence.  Both  tribes 
suffered  here  as  in  their  previous  home  from  the  attacks  of  the  Iroquois. 
William  Byrd  in  his  Journey  to  the  Land  of  Eden,  describes  the  region 
and  particularly  the  two  islands  with  some  detail,  and  repeats  some  charm- 
ing legends  of  the  Iroquois  conflicts  which  centered  about  them.  Byrd, 
William.     Writings,  244-247,  286,  288-290. 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  125 


lower  end  of  Charles  Island  lies  a  Bay  due  South  from 
the  said  Island,  so  spatious  that  we  could  not  see  the 
other  side  of  it:  this  bay  we  named  Pennants  Bay,  and 
in  the  River  between  Charles  Island,  and  the  maine 
Land  lies  a  Rocky  Point  in  the  River,  which  Point 
comes  out  of  Charles  Island,  and  runs  into  the  middle 
of  the  River:  this  Point  we  named  Brewsters  Point, 
and  at  this  Point  only,  and  no  other  is  there  any  place 
passeable  into  Charles    Island,  and    this   Brewsters 
Point  runs  not  quite  from  Charles  Island  to  the  maine 
Land,  but  when  you  come  off  the  maine  Land  to  the 
Rivers  side,  you  must  wade  about  fifty  paces  to  come 
upon  the  Point,  and  if  you  misse  the  Point  on  either 
side,  up  or  downe  the  River,  you  must  swim,  and  the 
River  runs  very  swift.     Some  three  miles  from  the 
River  side  over  against  Charles  Island  is  a  place  of 
severall  great  heapes  of  bones,  and  heere  the  Indian 
belonging  to  Blandina  River  that  went  along  with  us 
to  the  Fals,  sat  downe,  and  seemed  to  be  much  discon- 
tented, in  somuch  that  he  shed  teares;  we  demanded 
w^hy  those  bones  were  piled  up  so  curiously?     Oye- 
ocker  told  us,  that  at  this  place  Appachancano  one 
morning  with  four  hundred  men  treacherously  slew 
two  hundred  forty  of  the  Blandina  River  Indians  in 
revenge  of  three  great  men  slaine  by  them,  and  the 
place  we  named  Golgotha;  as  we  were  going  to  Blan- 
dina River  we  spake  to  Oyeocker  our  Guide  to  lead 
us  the  way,  and  he  would  not;  but  asked  our  Appa- 
mattuck  Guide  why  we  did  not  get  us  gone,  for  the 
Inhabitants  were  jealous  of  us,  and  angry  with  us, 
and  that  the  Runner  we  sent  to  the  Tuskarood  would 
not  come  at  the  day  appointed,  nor  his  King,  but  ran 
another  way,  and  told  the  Indians  that  w^e  came  to  cut 


126  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

them  ofif;  whereupon  our  Appamattuck  Guide 
stepped  forth,  and  frowning  said,  come  along,  we 
will  go  see  the  Falls  and  so  led  the  way,  and  also  told 
us  that  the  Woodford  Indians  lied,  and  that  Indian 
that  came  to  us,  which  the  Woodford  Indian  said  was 
the  King  of  Blandina  River,  was  not  the  Werrow- 
ance  of  Blandina  River;  whereupon  we  resolved  to 
return  (having  named  the  whole  Continent  New 
Brittaine)  another  way  into  our  old  path  that  led  to 
Brewsters  River,  and  shot  ofif  no  guns  because  of 
making  a  commotion,  and  adding  to  the  Natives 
feares.  At  Blandina  River  we  had  some  discourse 
with  our  Appamattuck  Guide  concerning  that  River, 
who  told  us  that  that  Branch  of  Blandina  River  ran 
a  great  way  up  into  the  Country;  and  that  about  three 
dayes  journy  further  to  the  South  West,  there  was  a  far 
greater  Branch  so  broad  that  a  man  could  hardly  see 
over  it,  and  bended  it  self  e  to  the  Northward  above  the 
head  of  James  River,  unto  the  foot  of  the  great  Moun- 
taines,  on  which  River  there  lived  many  people  up- 
wards, being  the  Occonacheans  and  the  Nessoneicks, 
and  that  where  some  of  the  Occanacheans  lived,  there 
is  an  Island  within  the  River  three  dayes  journy 
about,"^  which  is  of  a  very  rich  and  fertile  soile,  and 
that  the  upper  end  of  the  Island  is  fordable,  not  above 
knee  deepe,  of  a  stony  bottome,  running  very  swift, 
and  the  other  side  very  deepe  and  navigable :  Also  we 
found  many  of  the  people  of  Blandina  River  to  have 

130  Xhe  branch  of  the  Roanoke  to  which  the  Indian  had  reference  was 
the  Dan.  The  Occaneechi  appear  to  have  resided  on  an  island  in  it  not  far 
from  Danville,  Va.,  and  Lederer  claimed  to  have  found  them  there  as  late  as 
1670.  For  the  Occaneechi  see,  in  addition  to  the  Handbook  of  American 
Indians,  Mooney,  Siouan  Tribes  of  the  East,  Bulletin  22,  Bureau  of  American 
Ethnology. 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  127 


beards,  and  both  there,  and  at  Woodford  River  we 
saw  many  very  old  men,  and  that  the  Climate  accord- 
ing to  our  opinions  was  far  more  temperate  then  ours 
of  Virginia,  and  the  inhabitants  full  of  Children; 
they  also  told  us  that  at  the  bottome  of  the  River  was 
great  heapes  of  Salt ;  and  we  saw  among  them  Copper, 
and  were  informed  that  they  tip  their  pipes  with  sil- 
ver, of  which  some  have  been  brought  into  this  Coun- 
try, and  'tis  very  probable  that  there  may  be  Gold  and 
other  Mettals  amongst  the  hills. 

September  I.  About  noone  from  Woods  Journey 
wee  travelled  some  sixe  miles  North  East,  unto  the  old 
Path  that  leads  to  Brewsters  River:  within  night  we 
quartered  on  the  other  side  of  it,  and  kept  good  watch : 
this  Path  runnes  from  Woods  Journey  North  and  by 
East,  and  due  North. 

September  2.  In  the  morning  about  eight  of  the 
clocke,  as  every  one  was  mounted,  came  to  our  quar- 
ters Occonosquay,  sonne  to  the  Tuskarood  King,  and 
another  Indian  whom  he  told  was  a  Werrowance, 
and  his  Kinseman,  with  the  Runner  which  wee  had 
sent  to  the  Tuskarood  King,  who  was  to  meet  us  at 
Blandina  River  that  night;  the  Kings  sonne  told  us 
that  the  Englishman  would  be  at  his  house  that  night, 
a  great  way  off;  and  would  have  had  us  gone  backe 
with  him,  but  we  would  not,  and  appointed  him  to 
meete  us  at  Woodford  River  where  hee  came  not,  wee 
having  some  suspition  that  hee  came  from  Woodford 
River  that  night,  and  that  our  Runner  had  not  beene 
where  we  had  sent  him,  through  some  information 
of  our  Nottaway  guide,  which  afterwards  proved 
true,  by  the  Relation  of  the  Werrowance  of  Blandina 
River,  whom  about  fowre  howres  after  wee  had  part- 


128  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

ed  with  the  Kings  son,  wee  met  on  the  way  comming 
from  Woodford  River  with  a  company  of  men,  think- 
ing he  should  have  found  us  at  Blandina  River  that 
night,  according  to  his  order  and  promise ;  with  whom 
falling  into  discourse,  he  told  us  that  the  King  of  the 
Tuskaroods  son,  and  our  Runner  were  the  night  be- 
fore at  Woodford  River;  but  the  Kings  son  told  us 
he  came  from  Blandina  River,  and  beyond,  and  hear- 
ing we  were  gone  before  he  came,  he  had  travelled 
all  night  from  Blandina  River  to  overtake  us.  This 
day  about  Noone  we  came  to  Woodford  River 
Towne,  and  tarried  there  that  night,  we  found  the 
old  Werrowance,  and  all  his  great  men  gone,  yet  had 
courteous  quarter;  but  not  without  great  grounds  of 
suspition,  and  signes  that  they  were  angry  at  us:  at 
our  coming  back  to  Woodford  River  we  had  infor- 
mation that  some  Spies  of  Wainoake  had  been  there  a 
little  before  we  came,  and  that  the  King  of  Wainoake 
and  Chounterounte  had  sent  Runners  to  all  the  Na- 
tions thereabouts,  informing  them  that  the  English 
were  come  to  cut  them  off,  which  we  supposed  to  be 
some  greater  Polititians  then  Indian  Consultations, 
who  had  some  private  ends  to  themselves,  and  mind- 
ed nothing  lesse  then  a  publick  good;  for  we  found 
that  the  Runner  whom  we  imployed  to  carry  our  mes- 
sage to  the  Tuskarood  King,  ran  to  the  Waynoakes, 
and  he  whom  the  Woodford  Indians  told  us  was  the 
Werrowance  of  Blandina  River,  was  a  Woodford  In- 
dian, and  no  Werrowance,  but  done  of  purpose  to  get 
something  out  of  us,  and  we  had  information  that  at 
that  time  there  were  other  English  amongst  the  In- 
dians. 


Discovery  of  New  Brittaine  129 


September  J.     By  breake  of  day  we  journied  from 
Woodford  River  to  a  path  some  eight  miles  above 
Pennants  Mount  running  North,  and  by  East  and 
North,  North,  East,  which  was  done  by  the  advice  of 
our  Appamattuck  Guide,  who  told  us  that  he  was 
informed  that  some  plots  might  be  acted  against  us, 
if  we  returned  the  way  that  we  came,  for  we  told 
Chounterounte   we   would    returne    the    same    way 
againe:    And  this  information  our  Guide  told  us  he 
had  from  a  woman  that  was  his  Sweet-heart  belong- 
ing to  Woodford  River.     This  day  we  passed  over 
very  much   rich,    red,   fat,   marie  Lande,  betweene 
Woodford  River  Towne,  and  the  head  of  Pennants 
Mount,  with  divers  Indian  fields;  the  head  of  which 
River  abounds  much  with  great  Rocks  of  Stone,  and 
is  two  hundred  paces  over,  and  hath  a  small  Island 
in  it  named  Sackfords  Island.     Betweene  Pennants 
Mount  River  head,  and  the  head  of  Farmers  Chase 
River  is  very  much  exceeding  rich,  red,  fat,  marie 
Land,  and  Nottaway  and  Schockoores  old  fields,  for 
a  matter  of  sixe  miles  together  all  the  trees  are  blowne 
up  or  dead:  Heere  it  began  to  raine,  and  some  six 
miles  further  we  tooke  up  our  quarters,  and  it  proved 
a  very  wet  night.     At  the  first  other  Nottaway  old 
fields,  we  found    the  Inhabitants    much  perplexed 
about  a  gun  that  went  ofif  to  the  Westward  of  them, 
the  night  before  wee  came  thither,  which  our  Appa- 
mattuck Guide  conceived  were  the  Wainoake  Spies, 
set  out  there  to  prevent  our  journyings,  and  we  found 
severall  Agers  about  the  place  w^here  the  Indians  told 
us  the  gun  went  off. 

September  4.     About  eight  of  the  Clock  we  trav- 


130  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


elled  North,  North-East  some  six  miles,  unto  the  head 
of  Farmers  Chase  River,  where  we  were  forced  to 
swimm  our  horses  over,  by  reason  of  the  great  rain 
that  fell  that  night,  which  otherwise  with  a  little 
labour  may  be  made  very  passable.  At  this  place  is 
very  great  Rocky  stones,  fit  to  make  Mill-stones  with 
very  rich  tracks  of  Land,  and  in  some  places  between 
the  head  of  Farmers  Chase  River  and  Black  water 
Lake,  is  ground  that  gives  very  probable  proofe  of 
an  Iron,  or  some  other  rich  Mine.  Some  sixteen 
miles  from  Farmers  Chase,  North,  and  by  East,  and 
North,  North-East,  lies  Black  water  Lake,  which  hath 
very  much  rich  land  about  it,  and  with  little  labour 
will  be  made  very  passable.  From  Black  water  Lake 
we  did  travell  to  the  old  fields  of  Manks  Nessoneicks, 
and  from  thence  some  twelve  miles  North  North  East 
we  came  unto  Fort  Henry  about  the  close  of  the  Even- 
ing, all  well  and  in  good  health,  notwithstanding 
from  the  time  we  had  spoken  with  Chounterounte  at 
Pennants  Mount,  we  every  night  kept  a  strickt  watch, 
having  our  Swords  girt,  and  our  Guns  and  Pistols  by 
us,  for  the  Indians  every  night  where  we  lay,  kept  a 
strict  guard  upon  us. 

The  Discoverers,  viz.  Mr.  Edward  Blande, 
Merchant',  Abraham  Wood,  Captaine;  Mr.  Elias 
Pennant;  Mr.  Sackford  Brewster;  Robert  Farmer, 
Servant  to  Mr.  Blande;  Henry  Newcombe,  Servant 
to  Captaine  Wood;  Guides  -  Oyeocker,  a  Nottaway 
Werrowance;  Pyancha,  an  Appamattuck  War  Cap- 
taine. 


Ill 

The  Discoveries  of  John  Lederer 

Sir  William  Talbot's  The  Discovefies  of  John  Lederer  ^^ 


131  Printed  from  the  reprint  of  G.  P.  Humphrey,  Rochester,  N.Y.,  1902. 
It  has  also  been  reprinted  by  Harpel,  Cincinnati,  1879,  with  an  explanatory 
introduction  by  H.  A.  Rattermann.  This  introd^iction  is  of  little  value. 
Rattermann  says  that  Lederer  came  to  Virginia  in  1668,  and  that  he  spoke 
various  languages,  but  does  not  give  any  certain  source  of  information  other 
than  the  book  itself.  He  makes  several  speculations  as  to  Lederer's  identity, 
but  thinks  him  most  likely  to  have  been  a  Tyrolese.  He  is  entirely  credulous 
as  to  Lederer's  account  of  his  performances,  states  that  the  latter  from 
modesty  rather  underestimated  than  overestimated  his  distances,  and  thinks 
that  the  Doctor  really  went  as  far  as  Florida  on  his  second  expedition.  His 
explanations  of  Lederer's  marvelous  yarns  are  rather  clever.  A  German 
translation  of  the  book,  also  by  Rattermann,  was  published  in  Das  Pionier, 
a  G«rman  periodical  of  Cincinnati,  in  1876.  For  other  reprints,  see  "Bib- 
liography." 


THE 

DISCOVERIES 

OF 

In  three  fevcral  Marches  from 

VIRGINIA, 

To  the  Weft  of 

Carolina^ 

And  other  parts  of  the  Continent : 

Bc^vm in  March  i5^?,  and  ended  \n  Septembtr  1670. 
Together  Vith 

A  General  M  A  P  of  the  whole  Territory 
whiph  he  travel  fed.       i. 


Colle^ed  and  Tianflated  out  -of  Latine  from  his  Difcourfe 
and  Writings,     , 

By  Sir  If^illiam  Talbot  Baronet. 


Sednos  Immnif urn  fpai it's  cor'irimv^  <c]uo;'y 
Etjam  umfiu  eiiumf'ifntv.r/ifolixrc  colli.       Virg.Georg. 


V  hinion,   Piinted  byJ.C.  for  Samnd  Heyrick,^  at  Grays- 


-^  .  Inne-jate  in  Holborn.    1(572. 


Facsimile  of  origixal  title-page  of  "The  Discoveries 
OF  JoHX  Lederer" 


To  the  Right  Honourable 
ANTHONY  Lord  Ashley, 
Baron  Ashley  of  Wimborn  St.  Giles, 
Chancellor  of  his  Majesties  Exchequer, 
Under-Treasurer  of  England, 
One  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  his  Ma- 
jesties Treasury,  one  of  the  Lords  of  his 
most    Honourable    Privie    Council, 
and  one  of  the  Lords  Proprie- 
tors   of    CAROLINA 
My  Lord,  From  this  discourse  it  is  clear  that  the 
long  looked-for  discovery  of  the  Indian  Sea   does 
nearly  approach;  and  Carolina_j  out  of  her  happy  ex- 
perience of  your  lordships  success  in  great  undertak- 
ings, presumes  that  the  accomplishment  of  this  glo- 
rious designe  is  reserved  for  her.    In  order  to  which, 
the  Apalataean  Mountains    (though  like  the  prodi- 
gious wall  that  divides  China  and  Tartary,  they  deny 
Virginia  passage  into  the  West  Continent)  stoop  to 
your  lordships  dominions,  and  lay  open  a  prospect 
into  unlimited  empires;  empires  that  will  hereafter 
be  ambitious  of  subjection  to  that  noble  government 
which  by  your  lordships  deep  wisdom  and  providence 
first  projected  is  now  established  in  Carolina;  for  it 
will  appear  that  she  flourishes  more  by  the  influence 
of  that,  than  the  advantages  she  derives  from  her  cli- 
mate and  soyl,  which  yet  do  render  her  the  beauty 
and  envy  of  North-America.     That  all  her  glories 


136  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

should  be  seen  in  this  draught,  is  not  reasonably  to  be 
expected,  since  she  sate  to  my  author  but  once,  and 
then  too  with  a  side-face;  and  therefore  I  must  own 
it  was  never  by  him  designed  for  the  press,  but  pub- 
lished by  me,  out  of  no  other  ambition  than  that  of 
manifesting  to  the  world,  that  I  am.  My  Lord,  Your 
lordships  most  humble  and  obedient  servant, 

William  Talbot. 

To  THE  Reader.  That  a  stranger  should  presume 
(though  with  Sir  William  Berkly's  Commission)  to 
go  into  those  parts  of  the  American  Continent  where 
Englishmen  never  had  been,  and  w^hither  some  re- 
fused to  accompany  him,  was,  in  Virginia  look'd  on  as 
so  great  an  insolence,  that  our  traveller  at  his  return, 
instead  of  welcom  and  applause,  met  nothing  but 
affronts  and  reproaches;  for  indeed  it  was  their  part, 
that  forsook  him  in  the  expedition,  to  procure  him 
discredit  that  was  a  witness  to  theirs;  therefore  no 
industry  was  wanting  to  prepare  men  with  a  preju- 
dice against  him,  and  this  their  malice  improved  to 
such  a  general  animosity,  that  he  was  not  safe  in  Vir- 
ginia from  the  outrage  of  the  people,  drawn  into  a 
perswasion,  that  the  publick  levy  of  that  year,  went 
all  to  the  expence  of  his  vagaries.  Forced  by  this 
storm  into  Maryland,  he  became  known  to  me, 
though  then  ill-afifected  to  the  man,  by  the  stories  that 
went  about  of  him:  Nevertheless  finding  him,  con- 
trary to  my  expectation,  a  modest  ingenious  person, 
and  a  pretty  scholar,  I  thought  it  common  justice  to 
give  him  an  occasion  of  vindicating  himself  from 
what  I  had  heard  of  him;  which  truly  he  did  with 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  137 

so  convincing  reason  and  circumstance,  as  quite  abol- 
ished those  former  impressions  in  me,  and  made  me 
desire  this  account  of  his  travels,  which  here  you  have 
faithfully  rendered  out  of  Latine  from  his  own  writ- 
ings and  discourse,  with  an  entire  map  of  the  territory 
he  traversed,  copied  from  his  own  hand.  All  these  I 
have  compared  with  Indian  relations  of  those  parts 
(though  I  never  met  with  any  Indian  that  had  fol- 
lowed a  southwest-course  so  far  as  this  German)  and 
finding  them  agree,  I  thought  the  printing  of  these 
papers  was  no  injury  to  the  author,  and  might  prove 
a  service  to  the  publick.  William  Talbot. 


A  General  and  Brief  Account  of  the  North- 
American  Continent 

North,  as  well  as  South-America,  may  be  divided 
into  three  regions:  the  flats,  the  highlands,  and  the 
mountains.     The  flats,    (in  Indian,  Ahkynt)    is  the 
territory  lying  between  the  eastern  coast,  and  the  falls 
of  the  great  rivers,  that  there  run  into  the  Atlantick 
Ocean,  in  extent  generally  taken  ninety  miles.     The 
highlands  (in  Indian,  Ahkontshuck)  begin  at  those 
falls,  and  determine  at  the  foot  of  the  great  ridge  of 
mountains  that  runs  thorow  the  midst  of  this  conti- 
nent, northeast  and  southwest,  called  by  the  Spaniards 
Apalatai,  from  the  Nation  Apalakin;  and  by  the 
Indians,  Pcemotinck.     According  to  the  best  of  my 
observation  and  conjecture,  they  lie  parallel  to  the 
Atlantick  sea-coast,    that  bearing  from    Canada  to 
Cape  Florida,  northeast  and  southwest,  and  then  fall- 
ing off  due  west  as  the  mountains  do  at  Sara :  but  here 
they  take  the  name  of  Suala;  Sara  in  the  Warrennun- 
cock  dialect  being  Sasa  or  Sualy. 

The  flats,  or  Ahkynt,  are  by  former  writers  made 
so  well  known  to  Christendom,  that  I  will  not  stop 
the  reader  here,  with  an  unnecessary  description  of 
them;  but  shall  onely  say,  that  by  the  rankness  of  the 
soyl,  and  salt  moistness  of  the  air,  daily  discoveries  of 
fish-shells  three  fathom  deep  in  the  earth,  and  Indian 
tradition;  these  parts  are  supposed  some  ages  past  to 
have  lain  under  the  sea. 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  141 

The  highlands  (or  Ahkontshuck)  though  under 
the  same  parallels,  are  happie  notwithstanding  in  a 
more  temperate  and  healthful  air.  The  ground  is 
over-grown  with  underwood  in  many  places,  and 
that  so  perplext  and  interwoven  with  vines,  that  who 
travels  here,  must  sometimes  cut  through  his  way. 
These  thickets  harbour  all  sorts  of  beasts  of  prey,  as 
wolves,  panthers,  leopards,  lions,  etc.  (which  are 
neither  so  large  nor  so  fierce  as  those  of  Asia  and 
Africa)  and  small  vermine  as  wilde  cats,  foxes,  ra- 
coons. These  parts  were  formerly  possessed  by  the 
Tacci  alias  Dogi;  but  they  are  extinct;  and  the  In- 
dians now  seated  here,  are  distinguished  into  the  sev- 
eral nations  of  Mahoc,  Nuntaneuck,  alias  Nuntaly, 
Nahyssan,  Sapon,  Managog,  Mangoack,  Akenatzy, 
and  Monakin,  etc.  One  language  is  common  to  them 
all  though  they  differ  in  dialects.'^'  The  parts  in- 
habited here  are  pleasant  and  fruitful,  because 
cleared  of  wood,  and  laid  open  to  the  sun.  The  val- 
leys feed  numerous  herds  of  deer  and  elks  larger  than 
oxen :  these  valleys  they  call  Savanae,  being  marish 
grounds  at  the  foot  of  the  Apalataei,  and  yearly  laid 
under  water  in  the  beginning  of  summer  by  flouds  of 
melted  snow  falling  down  from  the  mountains. 

The  Apalataean  mountains,  called  in  Indian 
PiBTnotinck,  (or  the  origine  of  the  Indians)  are  bar- 
ren rocks,  and  therefore  deserted  by  all  living  crea- 
tures but  bears,  who  cave  in  the  hollow  cliffs.  Yet 
do  these  mountains  shoot  out  to  the  eastward  great 
promontories  of  rich  land,  known  by  the  high  and 

132  All  the  tribes  mentioned  were  of  the  Eastern  Siouan  group.  See 
Mooney,  Siouan  Tribes  of  the  East. 


142  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

spreading  trees  which  they  bear:  these  promontories, 
because  lower  than  the  main  ridge,  are  called  by  the 
Indians  Tanx-PcBtnotinck  (alias  Aquatt).  To  the 
northeast  the  mountains  rise  higher;  and  at  Sara  they 
sink  so  low,  that  they  are  easily  passed  over:  but  here 
(as  was  said  before)  they  change  their  course  and 
name,  running  due  West,  and  being  called  Sualy: 
now  the  Sualian  mountains  rise  higher  and  higher 
westward. 

Of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Indians  inhabit- 
ing the  Western  parts  of  Carolina  and  Virginia 

The  Indians  now  seated  in  these  parts  are  none  of 
those  which  the  English  removed  from  Virginia,  but 
a  people  driven  by  an  enemy  from  the  Northwest, 
and  invited  to  sit  down  here  by  an  oracle  about  four 
hundred  years  since,  as  they  pretend:  for  the  ancient 
inhabitants  of  Virginia  were  far  more  rude  and  bar- 
bourous,  feeding  onely  upon  raw  flesh  and  fish,  until 
these  taught  them  to  plant  corn,  and  shewed  them  the 
use  of  it. 

But  before  I  treat  of  their  ancient  manners  and 
customs,  it  is  necessary  I  should  shew  by  what  means 
the  knowledge  of  them  has  been  conveyed  from 
former  ages  to  posterity.  Three  ways  they  supply 
their  want  of  letters:  first  by  counters,  secondly  by 
emblemes  or  hieroglyphicks,  thirdly  by  tradition  de- 
livered in  long  tales  from  father  to  son,  which  being 
children  they  are  made  to  learn  by  rote. 

For  counters,  they  use  either  pebbles,  or  short  scant- 
lings of  straw  or  reeds.  Where  a  battle  has  been 
fought,  or  a  colony  seated,  they  raise  a  small  pyra- 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  143 

mid  of  these  stones,  consisting  of  the  number  slain  or 
transplanted.  Their  reeds  and  straws  serve  them  in 
religious  ceremonies:  for  they  lay  them  orderly  in  a 
circle  when  they  prepare  for  devotion  or  sacrifice; 
and  that  performed,  the  circle  remains  still:  for  it  is 
sacriledge  to  disturb  or  to  touch  it:  the  disposition 
and  sorting  of  the  straws  and  reeds,  shew  what  kinde 
of  rites  have  there  been  celebrated,  as  invocation,  sac- 
rifice, burial,  etc. 

The  faculties  of  the  minde  and  body  they  commonly 
express  by  emblems.  By  the  figure  of  a  stag,  they  im- 
ply swiftness;  by  that  of  a  serpent,  wrath;  of  a  lion, 
courage;  of  a  dog,  fidelity:  by  a  swan  they  signifie  the 
English,  alluding  to  their  complexion,  and  flight  over 
the  sea. 

An  account  of  time,  and  other  things,  they  keep  on  a 
string  or  leather  thong  tied  in  knots  of  several  col- 
ours. I  took  particular  notice  of  small  wheels  serving 
for  this  purpose  amongst  the  Oenocks,  because  I  have 
heard  that  the  Mexicans  use  the  same.  Every  nation 
gives  his  particular  ensigne  or  arms:  The  Sasque- 
sahanaugh  a  Tarapine,  or  small  tortoise;  the  Ake- 
natzy's  a  serpent;  the  Nahyssanes  three  arrow^s,  etc. 
In  this  they  likewise  agree  with  the  Mexican  Indians. 
F^id.  Jos.  a  Costa. 

They  w^orship  one  God,  Creator  of  all  things,  whom 
some  call  Okaec,  others  Mannith:  to  him  alone  the 
high-priest,  or  Perikii,  ofifers  sacrifice;  and  yet  they 
believe  he  has  no  regard  to  sublunary  affairs,  but  com- 
mits the  government  of  mankinde  to  lesser  deities,  as 
Quiacosough  and  Tagkanysough,  that  is,  good  and 
evil  spirits:  to  these  the  inferiour  priests  pay  their  de- 


144  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

votion  and  sacrifice,  at  which  they  make  recitals,  to  a 
lamentable  tune,  of  the  great  things  done  by  their  an- 
cestors. 

From  four  women,  viz.  Pash,  Sepoy,  Askarin  and 
Maraskarin,  they  derive  the  race  of  mankinde ;  which 
they  therefore  divide  into  four  tribes,  distinguished 
under  those  several  names.  They  very  religiously 
observe  the  degrees  of  marriage,  which  they  limit  not 
to  distance  of  kindred,  but  difference  of  tribes,  which 
are  continued  in  the  issue  of  the  females:  now  for  two 
of  the  same  tribe  to  match,  is  abhorred  as  incest,  and 
punished  with  great  severity. 

Their  places  of  burial  they  divide  into  four  quar- 
ters, assigning  to  every  tribe  one:  for,  to  mingle  their 
bodies,  even  when  dead,  they  hold  wicked  and  omi- 
nous. They  commonly  wrap  up  the  corpse  in  beasts 
skins,  and  bury  with  it  provision  and  housholdstuff 
for  its  use  in  the  other  world.  When  their  great 
men  die,  they  likewise  slay  prisoners  of  war  to  attend 
them.  They  believe  the  transmigration  of  souls:  for 
the  angry  they  say  is  possest  with  the  spirit  of  a  ser- 
pent; the  bloudy  with  that  of  a  wolf;  the  timorous,  of 
a  deer;  the  faithful,  of  a  dog,  etc.  and  therefore  they 
are  figured  by  these  emblems. 

Elizium,  or  the  abode  of  their  lesser  deities,  they 
place  beyond  the  mountains  and  Indian  Ocean. 

Though  they  want  those  means  of  improving  hu- 
man reason,  which  the  use  of  letters  affords  us;  let  us 
not  therefore  conclude  them  wholly  destitute  of 
learning  and  sciences:  for  by  these  little  helps  which 
they  have  found,  many  of  them  advance  their  natural 
understandings  to  great  knowledge  in  physick,  rheto- 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  145 


rick  and  policie  of  government:  for  I  have  been 
present  at  several  of  their  consultations  and  debates, 
and  to  my  admiration  have  heard  some  of  their  seniors 
deliver  themselves  with  as  much  judgment  and  elo- 
quence as  1  should  have  expected  from  men  of  civil 
education  and  literature. 

The  First  Expedition  from  the  head  of  Pemeeoncock, 

alias  York-River  (due  West)  to  the  top  of 

the  ApalatcBan  Mountains 

Upon  the  ninth  of  March,  1669,  (with  three  In- 
dians whose  names  were  Magtakunh,  Hopottoguoh 
and  Naunnugh)  I  went  out  at  the  falls  of  Pemaeon- 
cock,'"'  alias  York-River  in  Virginia,  from  an  Indian 
village  called  Shickehamany,  and  lay  that  night  in 
the  woods,  encountring  nothing  remarkable,  but  a 
rattle-snake  of  an  extraordinary  length  and  thickness, 
for  I  judged  it  two  yards  and  a  half  or  better  from 
head  to  tail,  and  as  big  about  as  a  mans  arm:  by  the 
distention  of  her  belly,  we  believed  her  full  with 
young;  but  having  killed  and  opened  her,  found  there 
a  small  squirrel  whole;  which  caused  in  me  a  double 
wonder:  first,  how  a  reptile  should  catch  so  nimble  a 
creature  as  a  squirrel;  and  having  caught  it,  how  he 
could  swallow  it  entire.  The  Indians  in  resolving  my 
doubts,  plunged  me  into  a  greater  astonishment,  when 
they  told  me  that  it  was  usual  in  these  serpents,  when 
they  lie  basking  in  the  sun,  to  fetch  down  these  squir- 
rels from  the  tops  of  the  trees,  by  fixing  their  eyes 
steadfastly  upon  them;  the  horrour  of  which  strikes 
such  an  affrightment  into  the  little  beast,  that  he  has 

133  Pamutikev. 


146  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

no  power  to  hinder  himself  from  tumbling  down  into 
the  jaws  of  his  enemy,  who  takes  in  all  his  sustenance 
without  chewing,  his  teeth  serving  him  onely  to  offend 
withal.  But  I  rather  believe  what  I  have  heard  from 
others,  that  these  serpents  climb  the  trees,  and  sur- 
prise their  prey  in  the  nest. 

The  next  day  falling  into  marish  grounds  between 
the  Pemaeoncock  and  the  head  of  the  River  Matape- 
neugh,  the  heaviness  of  the  way  obliged  me  to  cross 
Pemaeoncock,  where  its  North  and  South  branch 
(called  Ackmick)  joyn  in  one.  In  the  peninsula  made 
by  these  two  branches,  a  great  Indian  king  called 
Tottopottoma  was  heretofore  slain  in  battle,  fighting 
for  the  Christians  against  the  Mahocks  and  Nahys- 
sans,  from  whence  it  retains  his  name  to  this  day.^^* 
Travelling  thorow  the  woods,  a  doe  seized  by  a  wild 
cat  crossed  our  way;  the  miserable  creature  being 
even  spent  and  breathless  with  the  burden  and  cruelty 
of  her  rider,  who  having  fastened  on  her  shoulder, 
left  not  sucking  out  her  bloud  until  she  sunk  under 
him:  which  one  of  the  Indians  perceiving,  let  fly  a 
lucky  arrow,  which  piercing  him  thorow  the  belly, 
made  him  quit  his  prey  already  slain,  and  turn  with  a 
terrible  grimas  at  us;  but  his  strength  and  spirits  fail- 
ing him,  we  escaped  his  revenge,  which  had  certainly 
ensued,  were  not  his  wound  mortal.  This  creature  is 
something  bigger  than  our  English  fox,  of  a  reddish 
grey  colour,  and  in  figure  every  way  agreeing  with 
an  ordinary  cat;  fierce,  ravenous  and  cunning:  for 
finding  the  deer  (upon  which  they  delight  most  to 

^34  The  fight  at  the  forks  of  the  Pamunkey  in  1656  in  which  Totopotamoi 
fell  was  really  with  the  strange  Ricahecrian  Indians  from  beyond  the  moun- 
tains.    See  footnote  139. 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  147 


prey)  too  swift  for  them,  they  watch  upon  branches  of 
trees,  and  as  they  walk  or  feed  under,  jump  down 
upon  them.  The  fur  of  the  wilde  cat,  though  not  very 
fine,  is  yet  esteemed  for  its  virtue  in  taking  away  cold 
aches  and  pains,  being  worn  next  to  the  body;  their 
flesh,  though  rank  as  a  dogs,  is  eaten  by  the  Indians. 

The  eleventh  and  twelfth,  I  found  the  ways  very 
uneven  and  cumbred  with  bushes. 

The  thirteenth,  1  reached  the  first  spring  of  Pem- 
aeoncock,  having  crossed  the  river  four  times  that  day, 
by  reason  of  its  many  windings;  but  the  water  was  so 
shallow,  that  it  hardly  wet  my  horses  patterns.  Here 
a  little  under  the  surface  of  the  earth,  I  found  flat 
pieces  of  petrified  matter,  on  one  side  solid  stone,  but 
on  the  other  side  isinglas,  which  I  easily  peeled  off  in 
flakes  about  four  inches  square:  several  of  these 
pieces,  with  a  transparent  stone  like  crystal  that  cut 
glass,  and  a  white  marchasite  that  I  purchased  of  the 
Indians,  I  presented  to  Sir  William  Berkley,  Gover- 
nour  of  Virginia. 

The  fourteenth  of  March,  from  the  top  of  an  emi- 
nent hill,  I  first  descried  that  Apalataean  mountains, 
bearing  due  west  to  the  place  I  stood  upon:  their  dis- 
tance from  me  was  so  great,  that  I  could  hardly  dis- 
cern whether  they  were  mountains  or  clouds,  until  my 
Indian  fellow  travellers  prostrating  themselves  in 
adoration,  howled  out  after  a  barbarous  manner, 
Okee  pcp2,e  i.  e.  God  is  nigh. 

The  fifteenth  of  March,  not  far  from  this  hill,  pass- 
ing over  the  South-branch  of  Rappahanock-river,  I 
was  almost  swallowed  in  a  quicksand.  Great  herds  of 
red  and  fallow  deer  I  daily  saw  feeding;  and  on  the 
hill-sides,  bears  crashing  mast  like  swine.    Small  leo- 


148  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

pards  I  have  seen  in  the  woods,  but  never  any  lions, 
though  their  skins  are  much  worn  by  the  Indians.  The 
wolves  in  these  parts  are  so  ravenous,  that  I  often 
in  the  night  feared  my  horse  would  be  devoured  by 
them,  they  would  gather  up  and  howl  so  close  round 
about  him,  though  tethr'd  to  the  same  tree  at  whose 
foot  I  my  self  and  the  Indians  lay:  but  the  fires  which 
we  made,  I  suppose,  scared  them  from  worrying  us 
all.  Beaver  and  otter  I  met  with  at  every  river  that 
I  passed ;  and  the  woods  are  full  of  grey  foxes. 

Thus  I  travelled  all  the  sixteenth;  and  on  the  seven- 
teenth of  March  I  reached  the  Apalatsi.  The  air 
here  is  very  thick  and  chill;  and  the  waters  issuing 
from  the  mountain-sides,  of  a  blue  colour,  and  allum- 
ish  taste. 

The  eighteenth  of  March,  after  I  had  in  vain  as- 
sayed to  ride  up,  I  alighted,  and  left  my  horse  with 
one  of  the  Indians,  whilst  with  the  other  two  I 
climbed  up  the  rocks,  which  were  so  incumbred  with 
bushes  and  brambles,  that  the  ascent  proved  very  diffi- 
cult: besides  the  first  precipice  was  so  steep,  that  if  I 
lookt  down  I  was  immediately  taken  with  a  swim- 
ming in  my  head;  though  afterwards  the  way  was 
more  easie.  The  height  of  this  mountain  was  very 
extraordinary:  for  notwithstanding  I  set  out  with  the 
first  appearance  of  light,  it  was  late  in  the  evening  be- 
fore I  gained  the  top,  from  whence  the  next  morning 
I  had  a  beautiful  prospect  of  the  Atlantick-Ocean 
washing  the  Virginian-shore;  but  to  the  north  and 
west,  my  sight  was  suddenly  bounded  by  mountains 
higher  than  that  I  stood  upon.  Here  did  I  wander  in 
snow,  for  the  most  part,  till  the  four  and  twentieth 
day  of  March,  hoping  to  find  some  passage  through 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  149 

the  mountains;  but  the  coldness  of  the  air  and  earth 
together,  seizing  my  hands  and  feet  with  numbness, 
put  me  to  a  ne  plus  ultra ;  and  therefore  having  found 
my  Indian  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  with  my  horse, 
I  returned  back  by  the  same  way  that  I  went. 

The  Second  Expedition  from  the  Falls  of  Powhatan, 

alias  James-River,  in  Virginia,  to  Mahock 

in  the  Apalatcean  Mountains 

The  twentieth  of  May  1670,  one  Major  Harris'" 
and  myself,  with  twenty  Christian  horse,  and  five  In- 
dians, marched  from  the  falls  of  James-river,  in  Vir- 
ginia, toward  the  Monakins;""  and  on  the  two  and 
twentieth  were  welcomed  by  them  with  volleys  of 
shot.  Near  this  village  \\c  observed  a  pyramid  of 
stones  piled  up  together,  which  their  priests  told  us 
was  the  number  of  an  Indian  colony  drawn  out  by  lot 
from  a  neighbour-countrey  over-peopled,  and  led 
hither  by  one  Monack,  from  whom  they  take  the  name 
of  Monakin.  Here  enquiring  the  way  to  the  moun- 
tains, an  ancient  man  described  with  a  staffe  two  paths 
on  the  ground;  one  pointing  to  the  Mahocks,  and  the 
other  to  the  Nahyssans;  but  my  English  companions 
slighting  the  Indians  direction,  shaped  their  course 
by  the  compass  due  west,  and  therefore  it  fell  out  with 
us  as  it  does  with  those  land-crabs,  that  crawling  back- 
wards in  a  direct  line,  avoid  not  the  trees  that  stand  in 
their  way,  but  climbing  over  their  very  tops,  come 
down  again  on  the  other  side,  and  so  after  a  days  la- 

^35  See  footnote  120. 

136  The  Manakins  or  Manacans  were  visited  by  Newport  as  early  as  1608, 
and  are  very  frequently  mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  colony.  Their  vil- 
lage was  on  the  James,  twenty  miles  above  the  falls.  A  celebrated  Huguenot 
colony  settled  on  its  site  in  1699.     Mooney,  Siouan  Tribes  of  the  East,  26. 


150  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

hour  gain  not  above  two  foot  of  ground.  Thus  we 
obstinately  pursuing  a  due  west  course,  rode  over  steep 
and  craggy  clififs,  which  beat  our  horses  quite  ofif  the 
hoof.  In  these  mountains  we  wandered  from  the 
twenty-fifth  of  May  till  the  third  of  June,  finding 
little  sustenance  for  man  or  horse ;  for  these  places  are 
destitute  both  of  grain  and  herbage. 

The  third  of  June  we  came  to  the  south-branch  of 
James-river,  which  Major  Harris  observing  to  run 
northward,  vainly  imagined  to  be  an  arm  of  the  lake 
of  Canada;  and  was  so  transported  with  this  fancy, 
that  he  would  have  raised  a  pillar  to  the  discovery,  if 
the  fear  of  the  Mahock  Indian,  and  want  of  food  had 
permitted  him  to  stay.  Here  I  moved  to  cross  the 
river  and  march  on ;  but  the  rest  of  the  company  were 
so  weary  of  the  enterprize,  that  crying  out,  one  and 
all,  they  had  offered  violence  to  me,  had  I  not  been 
provided  with  a  private  commission  from  the  Gover- 
nour  of  Virginia  to  proceed,  though  the  rest  of  the 
company  should  abandon  me;  the  sight  of  which  laid 
their  fury. 

The  lesser  hills,  or  Akontshuck,  are  here  unpass- 
able,  being  both  steep  and  craggy:  the  rocks  seemed 
to  be  at  a  distance  to  resemble  eggs  set  up  an  end. 

James-river  is  here  broad  as  it  is  about  an  hundred 
mile  lower  at  Monakin;  the  passage  over  is  very  dan- 
gerous, by  reason  of  the  rapid  torrents  made  by  rocks 
and  shelves  forcing  the  water  into  narrow  chanels. 
From  an  observation  which  we  made  of  straws  and 
rotten  chuncks  hanging  in  the  boughs  of  trees  on  the 
bank,  and  two  and  twenty  feet  above  water,  we  argued 
that  the  melted  snow  falling  from  the  mountains 
swelled  the  river  to  that  height,  the  flood  carrying 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  1 151 

down  that  rubbish  which,  upon  the  abatement  of  the 
inundation,  remained  in  the  trees. 

The  air  in  these  parts  was  so  moist,  that  all  our  bis- 
cuit became  mouldy,  and  unfit  to  be  eaten,  so  that 
some  nicer  stomachs,  who  at  our  setting  out  laughed  at 
my  provision  of  Indian-meal  parched,  would  gladly 
now  have  shared  with  me:  but  I  being  determined  to 
go  upon  further  discoveries,  refused  to  part  with  any 
of  that  which  was  to  be  my  most  necessary  sustenance." 

The  Continuation   of  the  Second  Expedition  from 
Mahock,  Southward,  into  the  Prov- 
ince of  Carolina  ^" 

The  fifth  of  June,  my  company  and  I  parted  good 
friends,  they  back  again,  and  I  with  one  Sasquesahan- 
ough-Indian,  named  Jackzetavon,  only,  in  pursuit  of 
my  first  enterprize,  changing  my  course  from  west  to 
southwest  and  by  south,  to  avoid  the  mountains. 
Major  Harris  at  parting  gave  me  a  gun,  believing  me 
a  lost  man,  and  given  up  as  a  prey  to  Indians  or  sav- 
age beasts;  which  made  him  the  bolder  in  Virginia 
to  report  strange  things  in  his  own  praise  and  my  dis- 
paragement, presuming  I  would  never  appear  to  dis- 
prove him.  This,  I  suppose,  and  no  other,  was  the 
cause  that  he  did  with  so  much  industry  procure  me 
discredit  and  odium ;  but  I  have  lost  nothing  by  it,  but 

137  It  is  doubtful  wliere  Lederer  did  go  after  leaving  the  main  body.  We 
have  seen  tliat  Rattennann  accepts  his  claims  at  full  value,  and  adds  to 
them.  On  the  other  hand  Cyrus  Thomas,  in  the  American  Anthropologist, 
vol.  V,  724,  concludes  after  a  detailed  criticism  of  Lederer's  stor>-  that  "the 
journey  into  the  Carolinas  is  a  myth."  He  thinks  that  all  the  local  items 
mentioned  by  Lederer  in  the  account  of  this  journey  were  obtained  from  In- 
dians on  the  Virginia  frontier.  We  have  already  observed  (Introduction) 
that  as  far  as  the  Saura  village  the  story  bears  evidence  of  verisimilitude. 


152  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

what  I  never  studied  to  gain,  which  is  popular  ap- 
plause. 

From  the  fifth,  which  was  Sunday,  until  the  ninth 
of  June,  I  travelled  through  difficult  ways,  without 
seeing  any  town  or  Indian;  and  then  I  arrived  at 
Sapon,"^  a  village  of  the  Nahyssans,  about  an  hundred 
miles  distant  from  Mahock,  scituate  upon  a  branch 
of  Shawan,  alias  Rorenock-river;  and  though  I  had 
just  cause  to  fear  these  Indians,  because  they  had  been 
in  continual  hostility  with  the  Christians  for  ten  years 
before;  yet  presuming  that  the  truck  which  I  carried 
with  me  would  procure  my  welcome,  I  adventured 
to  put  myself  into  their  power,  having  heard  that  they 
never  oflfer  any  injury  to  a  few  persons  from  whom 
they  apprehend  no  danger:  nevertheless,  they  ex- 
amined me  strictly  whence  I  came,  whither  I  went, 
and  what  my  business  was.  But  after  I  had  bestowed 
some  trifles  of  glass  and  metal  amongst  them,  they 
were  satisfied  with  reasonable  answers,  and  I  received 
with  all  imaginable  demonstrations  of  kindness,  as 
offering  of  sacrifice,  a  compliment  shewed  only  to 
such  as  they  design  particularly  to  honour:  but  they 
went  further,  and  consulted  their  Godds  whether 
they  should  not  admit  me  into  their  nation  and  coun- 
cils, and  oblige  me  to  stay  amongst  them  by  a  marriage 
with  the  kings  or  some  of  their  great  mens  daughters. 
But  I,  though  with  much  a-do,  waved  their  courtesie, 
and  got  my  pastport,  having  given  my  word  to  return 
to  them  within  six  months. 

^"^The  Sapony  village  was  at  this  time  on  Otter  creek,  flowing  into 
Staunton  River  in  Campbell  Count\-,  Virginia.  The  Saponys  are  among  the 
most  frequently  mentioned  of  the  Eastern  Siouan  tribes.  See  Mooney,  Siouan 
Tribes  of  the  East. 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  i  53 

Sapon  is  within  the  limits  of  the  Province  of 
Carolina,  and  as  you  may  perceive  by  the  figure,  has 
all  the  attributes  requisite  to  a  pleasant  and  advanta- 
gious  seat;  for  though  it  stands  high,  and  upon  a  dry 
land,  it  enjoys  the  benefit  of  a  stately  river,  and  a  rich 
soyl,  capable  of  producing  many  commodities,  which 
may  hereafter  render  the  trade  of  it  considerable. 

Not  far  distant  from  hence,  as  I  understood  from 
the  Nahyssan  Indians,  is  their  kings  residence,  called 
pintahfe  from  the  same  river,  and  happy  in  the  same 
advantages  both  for  pleasure  and  profit:  which  my 
curiosity  would  have  led  me  to  see,  were  I  not  bound, 
both  by  oath  and  commission,  to  a  direct  pursuance 
of  my  intended  purpose  of  discovering  a  passage  to 
the  further  side  of  the  mountains. 

This  nation  is  governed  by  an  absolute  monarch; 
the  people  of  a  high  stature,  warlike  and  rich.  I 
saw  great  store  of  pearl  unbored  in  their  little  tem- 
ples, or  oratories,  which  they  had  won  amongst  other 
spoyls  from  the  Indians  of  Florida,  and  hold  in  as 
great  esteem  as  we  do. 

From  hence,  by  an  Indians  instructions,  I  directed 
my  course  to  Akenatzy,  an  island  bearing  south  and 
by  west,  and  about  fifty  miles  distant,  upon  a  branch 
of  the  same  river,  from  Sapon.  The  countrey  here, 
though  high,  is  level,  and  for  the  most  part  a  rich 
soyl,  as  I  judged  by  the  growth  of  the  trees ;  yet  where 
it  is  inhabited  by  Indians,  it  lies  open  in  spacious 
plains,  and  is  blessed  with  a  very  healthful  air,  as 
appears  by  the  age  and  vigour  of  the  people;  and 
though  I  travelled  in  the  month  of  June,  the  heat  of 
the  weather  hindered  me  not  from  riding  at  all  hours 


154  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

without  any  great  annoyance  from  the  sun.  By  easie 
journeys  I  landed  at  Akenatzy  upon  the  twelfth  of 
June.  The  current  of  the  river  is  here  so  strong,  that 
my  horse  had  much  difficulty  to  resist  it;  and  I  ex- 
pected every  step  to  be  carried  away  with  the  stream. 

This  island,  though  small,  maintains  many  inhab- 
itants, who  are  fix't  here  in  great  security,  being  nat- 
urally fortified  with  fastnesses  of  mountains,  and 
water  of  every  side.  Upon  the  north-shore  they  year- 
ly reap  great  crops  of  corn,  of  which  they  always  have 
a  twelve-months  provision  aforehand,  against  an  in- 
vasion from  their  powerful  neighbours.  Their  gov- 
ernment is  under  two  kings,  one  presiding  in  arms, 
the  other  in  hunting  and  husbandry.  They  hold  all 
things,  except  their  wives,  in  common;  and  their  cos- 
tume in  eating  is,  that  every  man  in  his  turn  feasts  all 
the  rest;  and  he  that  makes  the  entertainment  is  seated 
betwixt  the  two  kings;  where  having  highly  com- 
mended his  own  chear,  they  carve  and  distribute  it 
amongst  the  guests. 

At  my  arrival  here,  I  met  four  stranger-Indians, 
whose  bodies  were  painted  in  various  colours  with 
figures  of  animals  whose  likeness  I  had  never  seen: 
and  by  some  discourse  and  signes  which  passed  be- 
tween us,  I  gathered  that  they  were  the  only  surviv- 
ors of  fifty,  who  set  out  together  in  company  from 
some  great  island,  as  I  conjecture,  to  the  northwest; 
for  I  understood  that  they  crossed  a  great  water,  in 
which  most  of  their  party  perished  by  tempest,  the 
rest  dying  in  the  marishes  and  mountains  by  famine 
and  hard  weather,  after  a  two-months  travel  by  land 
and  water  in  quest  of  this  island  of  Akenatzy. 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  15/) 

The  most  remarkable  conjecture  that  I  can  frame 
out  of  this  relation  is,  that  these  Indians  might  come 
from  the  island  of  new  Albion  or  California,  from 
whence  we  may  imagine  some  great  arm  of  the  Indian 
ocean  or  bay  stretches  into  the  continent  towards  the 
Apalataian  mountains  in  the  nature  of  a  mid-land  sea, 
in  which  many  of  these  Indians  might  have  perished. 
To  confirm  my  opinion  in  this  point,  I  have  heard 
several  Indians  testifie,  that  the  nation  of  Ricko- 
hockans,''"  who  dwell  not  far  to  the  westward  of  the 
Apalatasan  mountains,  are  seated  upon  a  land,  as  they 
term  it,  of  great  waves;  by  which  I  suppose  they 
mean  the  seashore. 

The  next  day  after  my  arrival  at  Akenatzy,  a  Rick- 
ohockan  Ambassadour,  attended  by  five  Indians, 
whose  faces  were  coloured  with  auripigmentum  (in 
which  mineral  these  parts  do  much  abound)  was  re- 
ceived, and  that  night  invited  to  a  ball  of  their  fash- 
ion; but  in  the  height  of  their  mirth  and  dancing,  by 
a  smoke  contrived  for  that  purpose,  the  room  was 
suddenly  darkned,  and  for  what  cause  I  know  not,  the 

139  The  Rickahockans  or  Ricahecrians  entered  Virginia  from  beyond  the 
mountains  in  1656.  Through  misunderstanding  and  mismanagement  they 
were  attacked,  and  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon  Colonel  Edward  Hill  and 
the  friendly  Pamunkeys,  at  the  forks  of  the  river  of  that  name.  Neill,  E.  D. 
Virginia  Carolorum,  245-246. 

The  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology'  identifies  these  Indians  with  the 
Cherokee  [Mooney,  Siotian  Tribes  of  the  East,  also  Handbook  of  American 
Indians,  art.  "Cherokee"].  They  have  also  been  identified  with  the  Erie  or 
Rique,  who  were  defeated  and  expelled  from  their  home  on  Lake  Erie  in 
1655.  [See  Parkman,  Jesuits  in  America,  438-441;  Charlevoix,  History  of 
Nevj  France,  vol.  ii,  266.]  They  are  referred  to  in  many  cases  under  the 
name  "Riquehronnons"  or  "Rigueronnons"  —  Iroquois  designations.  [See 
Thwaites,  Jesuit  Relations,  index  s.  v.  "Eries;"  Handbook  of  American  In- 
dians, article  "Erie,"  and  synonyms.]  They  retired  behind  the  Blue  Ridge 
after  defeating  Hill,   and  remained  there  for  several  years. 


1^6  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

Rickohockan  and  his  retinue  barbarously  murthered. 
This  struck  me  with  such  an  affrightment,  that  the 
very  next  day,  without  taking  my  leave  of  them,  I 
slunk  away  with  my  Indian  companion.  Though 
the  desire  of  informing  my  self  further  concerning 
some  minerals,  as  auripigmentum,  etc.  which  I  there 
took  special  notice  of,  would  have  perswaded  me  to 
stay  longer  amongst  them,  had  not  the  bloody  exam- 
ple of  their  treachery  to  the  Rickohockans  frightened 
me  away. 

The  fourteenth  of  June,  pursuing  a  south-south- 
west course,  sometimes  by  a  beaten  path,  and  some- 
times over  hills  and  rocks,  I  was  forc'd  to  take  up  my 
quarters  in  the  woods:  for  though  the  Oenock-In- 
dians,  whom  I  then  sought,  were  not  in  a  direct  line 
above  thirty  odde  miles  distant  from  Akenatzy,  yet 
the  ways  were  such,  and  obliged  me  to  go  so  far 
about,  that  I  reached  not  Oenock  until  the  sixteenth. 
The  country  here,  by  the  industry  of  these  Indians, 
is  very  open,  and  clear  of  wood.  Their  town  is  built 
round  a  field,  where  in  their  sports  they  exercise  with 
so  much  labour  and  violence,  and  in  so  great  num- 
bers, that  I  have  seen  the  ground  wet  with  the  sweat 
that  dropped  from  their  bodies:  their  chief  recrea- 
tion is  slinging  of  stones.  They  are  of  mean  stature 
and  courage,  covetous  and  thievish,  industrious  to 
earn  a  peny;  and  therefore  hire  themselves  out  to 
their  neighbours,  who  employ  them  as  carryers  or 
porters.  They  plant  abundance  of  grain,  reap  three 
crops  in  a  summer,  and  out  of  their  granary  supply 
all  the  adjacent  parts.  These  and  the  mountain-In- 
dians build  not  their  houses  of  bark,  but  of  watling 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  i  57 


and  plaister.  In  summer,  the  heat  of  the  weather 
makes  them  chusc  to  lie  abroad  in  the  night  under 
thin  arbours  of  wild  palm.  Some  houses  they  have 
of  reed  and  bark;  they  build  them  generally  round: 
to  each  house  belongs  a  little  hovel  made  like  an  oven, 
where  they  lay  up  their  corn  and  mast,  and  keep  it 
dry.  7'hey  parch  their  nuts  and  acorns  over  the  fire, 
to  take  away  their  rank  oyliness;  which  afterwards 
pressed,  yeeld  a  milky  liquor,  and  the  acorns  an  am- 
ber-colour'd  oyl.  In  these,  mingled  together,  they  dip 
their  cakes  at  great  entertainments,  and  so  serve  them 
up  to  their  guests  as  an  extraordinary  dainty.  Their 
government  is  democratick;  and  the  sentences  of  their 
old  men  are  received  as  laws,  or  rather  oracles,  by 
them. 

Fourteen  miles  west-southwest  of  the  Oenocks, 
dwell  the  Shackory-Indians,  upon  a  rich  soyl,  and 
yet  abounding  in  antimony,  of  which  they  shewed  me 
considerable  quantities.  Finding  them  agree  with 
the  Oenocks  in  customs  and  manners,  I  made  no  stay 
here,  but  passing  thorow  their  town,  I  travelled  till 
the  nineteenth  of  June;  and  then  after  a  two  days 
troublesome  journey  thorow  thickets  and  marish 
grounds,  I  arrived  at  Watary  above  fourty  miles  dis- 
tant, and  bearing  west-southwest  to  Shakor.  This 
nation  differs  in  government  from  all  the  other  In- 
dians of  these  parts:  for  they  are  slaves,  rather  than 
subjects  to  their  king.  Their  present  monarch  is  a 
grave  man,  and  courteous  to  strangers:  yet  I  could 
not  without  horrour  behold  his  barbarous  supersti- 
tion, in  hiring  three  youths,  and  sending  them  forth 
to  kill  as  many  young  women  of  their  enemies  as  they 


158  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

could  light  on,  to  serve  his  son,  then  newly  dead,  in 
the  other  world,  as  he  vainly  f  ancyed.  These  youths 
during  my  stay  returned  with  skins  torn  oft'  the  heads 
and  faces  of  three  young  ,girls,  which  they  presented 
to  his  majestic,  and  were  by  him  gratefully  received. 

I  departed  from  Watary  the  one  and  twentieth  of 
June :  and  keeping  a  west-course  for  near  thirty  miles, 
I  came  to  Sara :  here  I  found  the  ways  more  level  and 
easie.  Sara  is  not  far  distant  from  the  mountains, 
which  here  lose  their  height,  and  change  their  course 
and  name :  for  they  run  due  west,  and  receive  from  the 
Spaniards  the  name  of  Suala.  From  these  mountains 
or  hills  the  Indians  draw  great  quantities  of  cinabar, 
with  which  beaten  to  powder  they  colour  their  faces: 
this  mineral  is  of  a  deeper  purple  than  vermilion,  and 
is  the  same  which  is  in  so  much  esteem  amongst  phy- 
sitians,  being  the  first  element  of  quicksilver. 

I  did  likewise,  to  my  no  small  admiration,  find  hard 
cakes  of  white  salt  amongst  them:  but  whether  they 
were  made  of  sea-water,  or  taken  out  of  salt-pits,  I 
know  not;  but  am  apt  to  believe  the  later,  because  the 
sea  is  so  remote  from  them.  Many  other  rich  com- 
modities and  minerals  there  are  undoubtedly  in  these 
parts,  which  if  possessed  by  an  ingenious  and  indus- 
trious people,  would  be  improved  to  vast  advantages 
by  trade.  But  having  tied  my  self  up  to  things  onely 
that  I  have  seen  in  my  travels,  I  will  deliver  no  con- 
jectures. 

"^  Lingua  site  non  est  ultra  narrabile  quidquam. 

These  Indians  are  so  indiscreetly  fond  of  their 
children,  that  they  will  not  chastise  them  for  any 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  159 

mischief  or  insolence.  A  little  boy  had  shot  an  ar- 
row thorow  my  body,  had  I  not  reconciled  him  to  me 
with  gifts:  and  all  this  anger  was,  because  1  spurred 
my  horse  out  of  another  arrows  way  which  he  di- 
rected at  him.  This  caused  such  a  mutiny  amongst 
the  youth  of  the  town,  that  the  seniors  taking  my  horse 
and  self  into  protection,  had  much  ado  (and  that  by 
intreaties  and  prayers,  not  commands)  to  appease 
them. 

From  Sara  I  kept  a  south-southwest  course  until 
the  five  and  twentieth  of  June,  and  then  I  reached 
Wisacky.  This  three-days  march  was  more  trouble- 
some to  me  than  all  my  travels  besides:  for  the  direct 
way  which  I  took  from  Sara  to  Wisacky,  is  over  a 
continuous  marish  overgrown  with  reeds,  from  whose 
roots  sprung  knotty  stumps  as  hard  and  sharp  as  flint. 
I  was  forc'd  to  lead  my  horse  most  part  of  the  way. 
and  wonder  that  he  was  not  either  plunged  in  the 
bogs,  or  lamed  by  those  rugged  knots. 

This  nation  is  subject  to  a  neighbour  king  residing 
upon  the  bank  of  a  great  lake  called  Ushery,  inviron- 
ed  of  all  sides  with  mountains,  and  Wisacky  marish; 
and  therefore  I  will  detain  the  reader  no  longer  with 
the  discourse  of  them,  because  I  comprehend  them 
in  that  of  Ushery. 

The  six  and  twentieth  of  June,  having  crossed  a 
fresh  river  which  runs  into  the  lake  of  Ushery,  I  came 
to  the  town,  which  was  more  populous  than  any  I  had 
seen  before  in  my  march.  The  king  dwells  some 
three  miles  from  it,  and  therefore  I  had  no  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  him  the  two  nights  which  I  stayed 
there.     This  prince,  though  his  dominions  are  large 


i6o  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


and  populous,  is  in  continual  fear  of  the  Oustack- 
Indians  seated  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake;  a  peo- 
ple so  addicted  to  arms,  that  even  their  women  come 
into  the  field,  and  shoot  arrows  over  their  husbands 
shoulders,  who  shield  them  with  leathern  targets. 
The  men  it  seems  should  fight  with  silver-hatchets: 
for  one  of  the  Usheryes  told  me  that  they  were  of  the 
same  metal  with  the  pomel  of  my  sword.  They  are 
a  cruel  generation,  and  prey  upon  people,  whom  they 
either  steal  or  force  away  from  the  Usheryes  in  Peria- 
go's,  to  sacrifice  to  their  idols.  The  Ushery-women 
delight  in  feather-ornaments,  of  which  they  have 
great  variety;  but  peacocks  in  most  esteem,  because 
rare  in  those  parts.  They  are  reasonably  handsome, 
and  have  more  of  civility  in  their  carriage  than  I  ob- 
served in  the  other  nations  with  whom  I  conversed; 
which  is  the  reason  that  the  men  are  more  efifeminate 
and  lazie. 

These  miserable  wretches  are  strangely  infatuated 
with  illusions  of  the  devil :  it  caused  no  small  horrour 
in  me,  to  see  one  of  them  wrythe  his  neck  all  on  one 
side,  foam  at  the  mouth,  stand  bare-foot  upon  burning 
coals  for  near  an  hour,  and  then  recovering  his  senses, 
leap  out  of  the  fire  without  hurt  or  signe  of  any.  This 
I  was  an  eye-witness  of. 

The  water  of  Ushery-lake  seemed  to  my  taste  a  lit- 
tle brackish;  which  I  rather  impute  to  some  mineral- 
waters  which  flow  into  it,  than  to  any  saltness  it  can 
take  from  the  sea,  which  we  may  reasonably  suppose 
is  a  great  way  from  it.  Many  pleasant  rivulets  fall 
into  it,  and  it  is  stored  with  great  plenty  of  excellent 
fish.     T  judged  it  to  be  about  ten  leagues  broad:  for 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  i6i 

were  not  the  other  shore  very  liigh,  it  could  not  be 
discerned  from  Ushery.  How  far  this  lake  tends 
westerly,  or  where  it  ends,  I  could  neither  learn  or 
guess. 

Here  I  made  a  days  stay,  to  inform  my  self  further 
in  these  countries;  and  understood  both  from  the 
Usheries,  and  some  Sara-Indians  that  came  to  trade 
with  them,  that  two-days  journey  and  a  half  from 
hence  to  the  southwest,  a  powerful  nation  of  bearded 
men  were  seated,  which  I  suppose  to  be  the  Span- 
iards, because  the  Indians  never  have  any;  it  being  an 
universal  custom  among  them  to  prevent  their  growth 
by  plucking  the  young  hair  out  by  the  roots.  West- 
ward lies  a  government  inhospitable  to  strangers;  and 
to  the  north,  over  the  Suala-mountains,  lay  the  Rick- 
ohockans.  I  thought  it  not  safe  to  venture  my  self 
amongst  the  Spaniards,  lest  taking  me  for  a  spy,  they 
would  either  make  me  aw^ay,  or  condemn  me  to  a 
perpetual  slavery  in  their  mines.  Therefore  not 
thinking  fit  to  proceed  further,  the  eight  and  twen- 
tieth of  June  I  faced  about,  and  looked  homewards. 

To  avoid  Wisacky-marish,  I  shaped  my  course 
northeast;  and  after  three  days  travel  over  hilly  ways, 
where  I  met  with  no  path  or  road,  I  fell  into  a  barren 
sandy  desert,  where  I  suffered  miserably  for  want  of 
water;  the  heat  of  the  summer  having  drunk  all  the 
springs  dry,  and  left  no  signe  of  any,  but  the  gravelly 
chanels  in  which  they  run:  so  that  if  now  and  then  I 
had  not  found  a  standing  pool,  which  provident  na- 
ture set  round  with  shady  oaks,  to  defend  it  from  the 
ardour  of  the  sun,  my  Indian  companion,  horse  and 
self  had  certainly  perished  with  thirst.     In  this  dis- 


1 62  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

tress  we  travelled  till  the  twelfth  of  July,  and  then 
found  the  head  of  a  river,  which  afterwards  proved 
Eruco;  in  which  we  received  not  onely  the  comfort 
of  a  necessary  and  reasonable  refreshment,  but  like- 
wise the  hopes  of  coming  into  a  country  again  where 
we  might  find  game  for  food  at  least,  if  not  discover 
some  new  nation  or  people.  Nor  did  our  hopes  fail 
us:  for  after  we  had  crossed  the  river  twice,  we  were 
led  by  it  upon  the  fourteenth  of  July  to  the  town  of 
Katearas,  a  place  of  great  Indian  trade  and  com- 
merce, and  chief  seat  of  the  haughty  Emperour  of  the 
Toskiroro's,  called  Kaskufara,  vulgarly  Kaskous.  His 
grim  Majestic,  upon  my  first  appearance,  demanded 
my  gun  and  shot;  which  I  willingly  parted  with  to 
ransom  my  self  out  of  his  clutches:  for  he  was  the 
most  proud  imperious  barbarian  that  I  met  with  in  all 
my  marches.  The  people  here  at  this  time  seemed 
prepared  for  some  extraordinary  solemnity:  for  the 
men  and  the  women  of  better  sort  had  decked  them- 
selves very  fine  with  pieces  of  bright  copper  in  their 
hair  and  ears,  and  about  their  arms  and  neck,  which 
upon  festival  occasions  they  use  as  an  extraordinary 
bravery:  by  which  it  should  seem  this  country  is  not 
without  rich  mines  of  copper.  But  I  durst~not  stay 
to  inform  my  self  further  in  it,  being  jealous  of  some 
sudden  mischief  towards  me  from  Kaskous,  his  na- 
ture being  bloudy,  and  provoked  upon  any  slight 
occasion. 

Therefore  leaving  Katearas,  I  travelled  through 
the  woods  until  the  sixteenth,  upon  which  I  came  to 
Kawitziokan,  an  Indian  town  upon  a  branch  of  Kor- 
enoke-river,  which  here  I  passed  over,  continuing  my 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  163 

journey  to  Menchaerinck;  and  on  the  seventeenth  de- 
parting from  thence,  I  lay  all  night  in  the  woods,  and 
the  next  morning  betimes  going  by  Natovvay,  I 
reached  that  evening  Apamatuck  in  Virginia,  where 
I  was  not  a  little  overjoyed  to  see  Christian  faces 
again. 

The  Third  and  Last  Expedition  from  the  Falls  of 

Rappahanock-River  in   Virginia,  (due   West) 

to  the  top  of  the  Apalatcean  Mountains 

On  the  twentieth  of  August  1670,  Col.  Catlet  of 
Virginia  and  my  self,  with  nine  English  horse,  and 
five  Indians  on  foot,  departed  from  the  house  of  one 
Robert  Talifer,  and  that  night  reached  the  falls  of 
Rappahanock-river,  in  Indian  Mantapeuck. 

The  next  day  we  passed  it  over  where  it  divides 
into  two  branches  north  and  south,  keeping  the  main 
branch  north  of  us. 

The  three  and  twentieth  we  found  it  so  shallow, 
that  it  onely  wet  our  horses  hoofs. 

The  four  and  twentieth  we  travelled  thorow  the 
Savanae  amongst  vast  herds  of  red  and  fallow  deer 
which  stood  gazing  at  us;  and  a  little  after,  we  came 
to  the  Promontories  or  spurs  of  the  Apalatsan-moun- 
tains. 

These  Savanae  are  low  grounds  at  the  foot  of  the 
Apalata?ans,  which  all  the  winter,  spring,  and  part  of 
the  summer,  lie  under  snow  or  water,  when  the  snow 
is  dissolved,  which  falls  down  from  the  mountains 
commonly  about  the  beginning  of  June;  and  then 
their  verdure  is  wonderful  pleasant  to  the  eye,  espe- 
cially of  such  as  having  travelled  through  the  shade  of 


164  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

the  vast  forest,  come  out  of  a  melacholy  darkness  of 
a  sudden,  into  a  clear  and  open  side.  To  heighten 
the  beauty  of  these  parts,  the  first  springs  of  most  of 
those  great  rivers  which  run  into  the  Atlantick  ocean, 
or  Cheseapeack  bay,  do  here  break  out,  and  in  various 
branches  interlace  the  flowry  meads,  whose  luxurious 
herbage  invites  numerous  herds  of  red  deer  (for  their 
unusual  largeness  improperly  termed  elks  by  ignorant 
people)  to  feed.  The  right  elk,  though  very  com- 
mon in  New  Scotland,  Canada,  and  those  northern 
parts,  is  never  seen  on  this  side  of  the  continent:  for 
that  which  the  Virginians  call  elks,  does  not  at  all 
differ  from  the  red  deer  of  Europe,  but  in  his  dimen- 
sions, which  are  far  greater:  but  yet  the  elk  in  bigness 
does  as  far  exceed  them :  their  heads,  or  horns,  are  not 
very  different;  but  the  neck  of  the  elk  is  so  short,  that 
it  hardly  separates  the  head  from  the  shoulders; 
which  is  the  reason  that  they  cannot  feed  upon  level 
ground  but  by  falling  on  their  knees,  though  their 
heads  be  a  yard  long:  therefore  they  commonly  either 
brouse  upon  trees,  or  standing  up  to  the  belly  in  ponds 
or  rivers  feed  upon  the  banks:  their  cingles  or  tails 
are  hardly  three  inches  long.  I  have  been  told  by  a 
New-England  gentlemen,  that  the  lips  and  nostrils 
of  this  creature  is  the  most  delicious  meat  he  ever 
tasted.  As  the  red  deer  we  here  treat  of,  I  cannot 
difference  the  taste  of  their  flesh  from  those  in  Eu- 
rope. 

The  six  and  twentieth  of  August  we  came  to  the 
mountains,  where  finding  no  horseway  up,  we  alight- 
ed, and  left  our  horses  with  two  or  three  Indians 
below,  whilst  we  went  up  afoot.     The  ascent  was  so 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  l6ij 


steep,  the  cold  so  intense,  and  we  so  tired,  that  having 
with  much  ado  gained  the  top  of  one  of  the  highest, 
we  drank  the  kings  health  in  brandy,  gave  the  moun- 
tain his  name,  and  agreed  to  return  back  again,  hav- 
ing no  encouragement  from  that  prospect  to  proceed 
to  a  further  discovery;  since  from  hence  we  saw  an- 
other mountain,  bearing  north  and  by  west  to  us,  of  a 
prodigious  height:  for  according  to  an  observation 
of  the  distance  taken  by  Col.  Catlet,  it  could  not  be 
less  than  fifty  leagues  from  the  place  w^e  stood  upon. 
Here  I  was  stung  in  my  sleep  by  a  mountain-spider ; 
and  had  not  an  Indian  suckt  out  the  poyson,  I  had 
died:  for  receiving  the  hurt  at  the  tip  of  one  of  my 
fingers,   the  venome  shot  up   immediately  into   my 
shoulder,  and  so  inflamed  my  side,  that  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  express  my  torment.     The  means  used  by  my 
physician,  was  first  a  small  dose  of  snake-root-pow- 
der, which  I  took  in  a  little  water:  and  then  making  a 
kinde  of  plaister  of  the  same,  applied  it  neer  to  the 
part  afifected:  when  he  had  done  so,  he  swallowed 
some  by  way  of  antidote  himself,  and  suckt  my  fingers 
end  so  violently,  that  I  felt  the  venome  retire  back 
from  my  side  into  my  shoulder,  and  from  thence  down 
my  arm:  having  thus  suckt  half  a  score  times,  and 
spit  as  often,  I  was  eased  of  all  my  pain,  and  perfectly 
recovered.     I  thought  I  had  been  bit  by  a  rattlesnake, 
for  I  saw  not  what  hurt  me:  but  the  Indian  found  by 
the  wound,  and  the  efi'ects  of  it,  that  it  was  given  by  a 
spider,  one  of  which  he  shewed  me  the  next  day:  it  is 
not  unlike  our  great  blue  spider,  onely  it  is  somewhat 
longer.       I  suppose  the  nature  of  his  poyson  to  be 
much  like  that  of  the  tarantula. 


1 66  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

I  being  thus  beyond  my  hopes  and  expectations  re- 
stored to  my  self,  we  unanimously  agreed  to  return 
back,  seeing  no  possibility  of  passing  through  the 
mountains:  and  finding  our  Indians  with  our  horses 
in  the  place  where  we  left  them,  we  rode  homewards 
without  making  any  further  discovery. 

Conjectures  of  the  Land  beyond  the  Apalatcean 
Mountains 

They  are  certainly  in  a  great  error,  who  imagine 
that  the  continent  of  North-America  is  but  eight  or 
ten  days  journey  over  from  the  Atlantick  to  the  In- 
dian ocean:  which  all  reasonable  men  must  acknowl- 
edge, if  they  consider  that  Sir  Francis  Drake  kept  a 
west-northwest  course  from  Cape  Mendocino  to  Cal- 
ifornia. Nevertheless,  by  what  I  gathered  from  the 
stranger  Indians  at  Akenatzy  of  their  voyage  by  sea 
to  the  very  mountains  from  a  far  distant  northwest 
country,  I  am  brought  over  to  their  opinion  who 
think  that  the  Indian  ocean  does  stretch  an  arm  or  bay 
from  California  into  the  continent  as  far  as  the  Apala- 
taean  mountains,  answerable  to  the  Gulfs  of  Florida 
and  Mexico  on  this  side.  Yet  I  am  far  from  believ- 
ing with  some,  that  such  great  and  navigable  rivers 
are  to  be  found  on  the  other  side  the  Apalat^eans  fall- 
ing into  the  Indian  ocean,  as  those  which  run  from 
them  to  the  eastward.  My  first  reason  is  derived 
from  the  knowledge  and  experience  we  already  have 
of  South-America,  whose  Andes  send  the  greatest 
rivers  in  the  world  (as  the  Amazones  and  Rio  de  la 
Plata,  etc.)  into  the  Atlantick,  but  none  at  all  into  the 
Pacifique  sea.     Another  argument  is,   that  all  our 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  167 

water-fowl  which  delight  in  lakes  and  rivers,  as  swans, 
geese,  ducks,  etc.,  come  over  the  mountains  from  the 
Lake  of  Canada,  when  it  is  frozen  over  every  winter, 
to  our  fresh  rivers;  which  they  would  never  do,  could 
they  find  any  on  the  other  side  of  the  Apalataeans. 

Instructions  to  such  as  shall  march  upon  Discoveries 
into  the  North- American   Continent 

Two  breaches  there  are  in  the  Apalataean  moun- 
tains, opening  a  passage  into  the  western  parts  of  the 
continent.  One,  as  I  am  informed  by  Indians,  at  a 
place  called  Zynodoa,  to  the  norward ;  the  other  Sara, 
where  I  have  been  my  self :  but  the  way  thither  being 
thorow  a  vast  forest,  where  you  seldom  fall  into  any 
road  or  path,  you  must  shape  your  course  by  a  com- 
pass; though  some,  for  want  of  one,  have  taken  their 
direction  from  the  north-side  of  the  trees,  which  is 
distinguished  from  the  rest  by  quantities  of  thick  moss 
growing  there.  You  will  not  meet  with  many  hinder- 
ances  on  horseback  in  your  passage  to  the  mountains, 
but  where  your  course  is  interrupted  by  branches  of 
the  great  rivers,  which  in  many  places  are  not  ford- 
able;  and  therefore  if  you  be  unprovided  of  means  or 
strength  to  make  a  bridge  by  felling  trees  across,  you 
may  be  forced  to  go  a  great  way  about:  in  this  respect 
company  is  necessary,  but  in  others  so  inconvenient, 
that  I  would  not  advise  above  half  a  dozen,  or  ten  at 
the  most,  to  travel  together;  and  of  these,  the  major 
part  Indians:  for  the  nations  in  your  way  are  prone 
to  jealousie  and  mischief  towards  Christians  in  a  con- 
siderable body,  and  as  courteous  and  hearty  to  a  few, 
from  whom  they  apprehend  no  danger. 


1 68  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


When  you  pass  thorow  an  even  level  country  where 
you  can  take  no  particular  remarks  from  hill  or 
waters  to  guide  your  self  by  when  you  come  back,  you 
must  not  forget  to  notch  the  trees  as  you  go  along  with 
your  small  hatchet,  that  in  your  return  you  may  know 
when  you  fall  into  the  same  way  which  you  went.  By 
this  means  you  will  be  certain  of  the  place  which  you 
are  in,  and  may  govern  your  course  homeward  ac- 
cordingly. 

In  stead  of  bread,  I  used  the  meal  of  parched  mayz, 
i.  e.  Indian  wheat;  which  when  I  eat,  I  seasoned  with 
a  little  salt.  This  is  both  more  portable  and  strength- 
ening than  biscuit,  and  will  suffer  no  mouldiness  by 
any  weather.  For  other  provisions,  you  may  securely 
trust  to  your  gun,  the  woods  being  full  of  fallow,  and 
savans  of  red-deer,  besides  great  variety  of  excellent 
fowl,  as  wilde  turkeys,  pigeons,  partridges,  pheasants, 
etc.  But  you  must  not  forget  to  dry  or  barbecue 
some  of  these  before  you  come  to  the  mountains:  for 
upon  them  you  will  meet  with  no  game,  except  a  few 
bears. 

Such  as  cannot  lie  on  the  ground,  must  be  provided 
with  light  hamacks,  which  hung  in  the  trees,  are 
more  cool  and  pleasant  than  any  bed  whatsoever. 

The  order  and  discipline  to  be  observed  in  this  ex- 
pedition is,  that  an  Indian  scout  or  two  march  as  far 
before  the  rest  of  the  party  as  they  can  in  sight,  both 
for  the  finding  out  provision,  and  discovery  of  am- 
bushes, if  any  should  be  laid  by  enemies.  Let  your 
other  Indians  keep  on  the  right  and  left  hand,  armed 
not  onely  with  guns,  but  bills  and  hatchets,  to  build 
small  arbours  or  cottages  of  boughs  and  bark  of  trees, 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  169 

to  shelter  and  defend  you  from  the  injuries  of  the 
weather.  At  nights  it  is  necessary  to  make  great  fires 
round  about  the  place  where  you  take  up  your  lodg- 
ing, as  well  to  scare  wild-beasts  away,  as  to  purifie 
the  air.  Neither  must  you  fail  to  go  the  round  at  the 
close  of  the  evening:  for  then,  and  betimes  in  the 
morning,  the  Indians  put  all  their  designes  in  execu- 
tion: in  the  night  they  never  attempt  any  thing. 

When  in  the  remote  parts  you  draw  near  to  an  In- 
dian town,  you  must  by  your  scouts  inform  your  self 
whether  they  hold  any  correspondence  with  the  Sas- 
quesahanaughs:  for  to  such  you  must  give  notice  of 
your  approach  by  a  gun;  which  amongst  other  In- 
dians is  to  be  avoided,  because  being  ignorant  of  their 
use,  it  would  afifright  and  dispose  them  to  some 
treacherous  practice  against  you.  ^ 

Being  arrived  at  a  town,  enter  no  house  until  you 
are  invited;  and  then  seem  not  afraid  to  be  led  in 
pinion'd  like  a  prisoner:  for  that  is  a  ceremony  they 
use  to  friends  and  enemies  without  distinction. 

You  must  accept  of  an  invitation  from  the  seniors, 
before  that  of  the  young  men  ;  and  refuse  nothing  that 
is  offered  or  set  before  you :  for  they  are  very  jealous, 
and  sensible  of  the  least  slighting  or  neglect  from 
strangers,  and  mindful  of  revenge. 

Touching  Trade  with  Indians 

If  you  barely  designe  a  home-trade  with  neigh- 
bour-Indians, for  skins  of  deer,  beaver,  otter,  wild- 
cat, fox,  racoon,  etc.  your  best  truck  is  a  sort  of  course 
trading  cloth,  of  which  a  yard  and  a  half  makes  a 
matchcoat  or  mantle  fit  for  their  wear;  as  also  axes. 


I  JO  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

hoes,  knives,  sizars,  and  all  sorts  of  edg'd  tools.  Guns, 
powder  and  shot,  etc.  are  commodities  they  will 
greedily  barter  for:  but  to  supply  the  Indians  with 
arms  and  ammunition,  is  prohibited  in  all  English 
governments. 

In  dealing  with  the  Indians,  you  must  be  positive 
and  at  a  word:  for  if  they  perswade  you  to  fall  any 
thing  in  your  price,  they  will  spend  time  in  higgling 
for  further  abatements,  and  seldom  conclude  any  bar- 
gain. Sometimes  you  may  with  brandy  or  strong 
liquor  dispose  them  to  an  humour  of  giving  you  ten 
times  the  value  of  your  commodity ;  and  at  other  times 
they  are  so  hide-bound,  that  they  will  not  ofifer  half 
the  market-price,  especially  if  they  be  aware  that  you 
have  a  designe  to  circumvent  them  with  drink,  or  that 
they  think  you  have  a  desire  to  their  goods,  which 
you  must  seem  to  slight  and  disparage. 

To  the  remoter  Indians,  you  must  carry  other  kinde 
of  truck,  as  small  looking-glasses,  pictures,  beads  and 
bracelets  of  glass,  knives,  sizars,  and  all  manner  of 
gaudy  toys  and  knacks  for  children,  which  are  light 
and  portable.  For  they  are  apt  to  admire  such  trin- 
kets, and  will  purchase  them  at  any  rate,  either  with 
their  currant  coyn  of  small  shells,  which  they  call 
roanoack  or  peack,  or  perhaps  with  pearl,  vermilion, 
pieces  of  christal;  and  towards  Ushery,  with  some 
odde  pieces  of  plate  or  buillon,  which  they  sometimes 
receive  in  truck  from  the  Oestacks. 

Could  I  have  foreseen  when  I, set  out,  the  advan- 
tages to  be  made  by  a  trade  with  those  remote  In- 
dians, I  had  gone  better  provided;  though  perhaps 
I  might  have  run  a  great  hazard  of  my  life,  had  I  pur- 


Discoveries  of  John  Lederer  171 

chased  considerably  amongst  them,  by  carrying 
wealth  unguarded  through  so  many  different  nations 
of  barbarous  people:  therefore  it  is  vain  for  any  man 
to  propose  to  himself,  or  undertake  a  trade  at  that 
distance,  unless  he  goes  with  strength  to  defend,  as 
well  as  an  adventure  to  purchase  such  commodities: 
for  in  such  a  design  many  ought  to  joyn  and  go  in 
company. 

Some  pieces  of  silver  unwrought  I  purchased  my 
self  of  the  Usheries,  for  no  other  end  than  to  justifie 
this  account  I  give  of  my  second  expedition,  which 
had  not  determined  at  Ushery,  were  I  accompanied 
with  half  a  score  resolute  youths  that  would  have 
stuck  to  me  in  a  further  discovery  towards  the  Span- 
ish mines. 


IV 

Governor  Berkeley  as  a  Promoter  of  Explor- 
ation 

Letter  of   Sir  William   Berkeley  to   Lord  Arlington,    May 

27,  1669 
Letter  of  Thomas  Ludwell  to  Lord  Arlington,  June  27,  1670 
Letter  of  Sir  William  Berkeley  to  the  committee  for  trade 

and  plantations,  January'  22,  167 1/2 


Governor  Berkeley  as  a  Promoter  of 
Exploration 

Letter*  of  Sir  William  Berkeley  to  Lord  Arlhigton 
May  2  J,  i66q 

My  most  honord  Lord'"'  I  did  this  last  spring 
resolve  to  make  an  Essay  to  doe  his  Majestic  a  mem- 
orable service  which  was  in  the  Company  of  Two 
hundred  Gent  who  had  engaged  to  goe  along  with 
me  to  find  out  the  East  India  sea,  and  we  had  hopes 
that  in  our  Journy  we  should  have  found  some  Mines 
of  silver;  for  certaine  it  is  that  the  Spaniard  in  the 
same  degrees  of  latitude  has  found  many  But  my 
Lord  unusual  and  continued  Raynes  hindred  my  in- 
tentions nor  can  I  in  reason  be  sorry  for  it  thoughe  I 
am  of  that  age  that  requires  that  very  little  time 
should  be  mispent  Yet  I  considered  since;  that 
thoughe  the  motives  to  this  voyage  were  only  ardent 
Intentions  to  doe  his  Majestie  service  Yet  I  had  not 
his  Majestie  Comission  to  Justify  so  bold  an  under- 
taking to  this  I  added  the  memory  of  the  misfortune 
of  Sir  Walter  Rawleigh.     But  my  Lord  if  his  Majes- 

•  Colonial  Papers,  Public  Record  Office,  vol.  xxiv ;  Winder  Papers,  Vir- 
ginia  State  Library,  vol.   i,   252. 

I'^^This  letter  is  here  printed,  as  the  heading  indicates,  from  a  tran- 
script made  in  Richmond  of  the  transcript  in  the  If'inder  Papers  in  the 
Virginia  State  Library.  It  has  also  been  printed  in  the  Virginia  Magazine 
of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  xix,  258-260. 


176  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

tie  be  pleased  I  shal  prosecute  this  desinge  and  wil 
send  me  his  comission  to  doe  it  I  shall  this  next  spring 
goe  with  such  a  strength  that  shal  secure  me  against 
al  opposition  whether  of  the  Spaniards  or  Indians 
and  my  Lord  if  we  meet  with  the  Spaniards  it  will  be 
in  those  Degrees  of  latitude  which  his  Majestie  Pre- 
decessors have  claymd  thes  foure  score  yeares  and 
more  my  Lord. 

My  lord  the  Gent  that  brings  you  this  letter  is  one 
that  has  long  liv'd  in  this  country  and  with  many  of 
his  owne  Regiment  resolvd  to  accompany  me  in  this 
Expedition  he  is  as  understanding  a  man  as  can  be 
expected  from  one  as  has  spent  most  of  his  time  in  a 
desert  and  if  his  Majestie  please  to  divert  himselfe  by 
Asking  questions  of  the  nature  posture  and  condition 
of  his  Collony  I  doubt  not  but  he  wil  give  his  Majes- 
tie ful  satisfaction  this  Gent  who  is  cald  Coll 
Parkes  I  have  desired  to  waite  on  your  Lords  for 
your  letter  and  comands  which  I  beseech  you  to  let 
him  have  for  every  line  of  your  lordships  I  lay  up  in 
my  hart  as  an  additional  honor  my  lord  I  am  Your 
Lordships  most  humble  and  most  obedient  servant. 

[sign'd]  Will  Berkeley. 
May  27,  1669,  Virginia. 

By  this  Mappe  *  it  should  seeme  that  this  Expedi- 
tion is  supposd  more  jaule  [jolly]  and  easy  than  I 
beleeve  we  shal  find  it. 

[Indorsed:  Virginia,  Wm.  Berkeley,  May  27  69. 
If  his  Majesty  please  that  hee  renew  his  attempt  to 
find  out  ye  E.  Ind:  sea  hee  desires  a  Commander  for 
it  refers  your  Lordship  to  ye  bearer.] 

•  This  map  has  not  been  found. 


Governor  Berkeley  as  a  Promoter  177 

Letter  *  of  Thomas  Ludwell  to  Lord  Arlington  '^^ 

Virginia  June  27th,  1670. 
Right  Honorable:  In  my  last  I  sent  the  account 
of  the  28.  per  hogshead  and  in  this  you  will  receave 
the  account  of  the  leavy  in  tobacco  to  which  I  have  at 
present  little  to  adde  which  is  that  on  the  22th  of  May 
last  the  Governour  sent  out  a  party  of  men  to  discover 
the  mountaines  who  retourned  after  eighteen  dayes, 
twelve  of  which  were  goeing  and  six  retourning 
theire  discovery  was  not  soe  considerable  as  to 
trouble  your  Lordship  with  the  perticulars  of  it  only 
this  that  after  four  or  five  daies  travaile  over  the 
mountaines  they  were  taken  up  by  a  river  of  (as  they 
guesse)  four  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide  very  rapid 
and  full  of  rocks  running  soe  farr  as  they  could  see  it 
due  north  between  the  hills  the  banks  whereof  were 
in  most  places  according  to  theire  computacon  nere 
one  thousand  yards  high  and  soe  broken  that  they 
could  not  coast  it  to  give  a  more  ample  account  of  its 
progresse  the  mountaines  they  passed  were  high 
and  rocky  and  soe  grown  with  wood  as  gave  them 
great  difficulty  to  passe  them,  but  from  the  last  they 
were  on  which  was  at  the  river  before  mencond,  they 
judged  them  selves  with  in  ten  miles  of  other  hills  bar- 
ren and  naked  of  wood  full  of  broken  white  cliffs  be- 
yond which  (soe  long  as  they  staid)  they  every  morn- 
ing saw  a  fogg  arise  and  hand  in  the  aire  till  ten  a 
clock  from  whence  we   doe   conjecture   that   those 

*  Colonial  Papers,  Public  Record  Office,  vol.  xxv,  no.  40. 

1*^  This  is  a  narrative  of  the  expedition  headed  by  Major  Harris,  and 
should  be  read  in  connection  with  Lederer's  account  of  it  [second  expedi- 
tion, first   part]. 


178  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

fogg  arise  either  from  morasse  grounds  or  some  great 
lake  or  river  to  which  those  mountaines  give  bounds 
and  there  we  doe  suppose  will  be  the  end  of  our  la- 
bour in  some  happy  discovery  which  we  shall  attempt 
in  the  end  of  somer  with  provisions  to  passe  the  river 
as  allsoe  to  try  for  mines,  being  yet  very  confident  that 
the  bowells  of  those  barren  hills  are  not  without  silver 
or  gold,  and  that  there  are  rivers  falling  the  other  way 
in  to  the  sea  as  well  as  this  to  the  east,  I  heartyly 
pray  wee  may  discover  what  may  be  satisfactory  to 
his  Majestic  and  for  the  honnor  and  wealth  of  his 
kingdome;  My  Lord  I  humbly  thanke  you  for  all 
your  favors  and  doe  beg  your  beliefe  that  I  am  with 
my  whole  heart  My  Lord  your  Lordships  most  obe- 
dient humble  servant.  Tho:  Ludwell. 
Endorsed:    Virginia  June  27th,  70.  Mr.  Ludwell. 

Letter  *  of  Sir  William  Berkeley  to  the  Committee 
for  Trade  and  Plantations,  January  22 ,  lOjI /2 

My  Lords:  By  my  Brother  Culpeper  I  gave  your 
Lordships  an  Account  of  this  place  according  to  your 
Lordships  commands  and  hope  it  came  safely  and 
timely  to  your  Lordships  hands. 

My  Lords  in  that  letter  I  intimated  to  your  Lord- 
ships how  greate  a  want  we  had  of  some  men  skilful 
in  the  Making  of  silke  and  humbly  desird  your  Lord- 
ships to  procure  his  Majesties  Royal  Commands  to 
the  Consuls  of  Naples  and  Sicily  to  send  some  into 
England  We  wil  beare  the  charge  of  their  transport 
and  Annual  Wages  as  soone  as  they  shal  arrive  in 
England  And  I  doe  now  againe  humbly  desire  your 

*  Colonial  Papers,  Public  Record  Office,  vol.  xxviii,  no.  6. 


Governor  Berkeley  as  a  Promoter  179 

Lordships  to  move  his  Maiesty  in  it  for  my  Lords  if 
we  had  but  six  able  men  that  would  teach  us  the  right 
way  of  feeding  Wormes  and  Winding  Silke  we 
should  in  a  short  time  Make  an  unexpected  progresse 
in  it. 

My  Lords  by  the  last  shipps  I  hope  to  give  yours 
Lordships  an  account  of  a  happy  discovery  to  the 
West  But  I  dare  not  much  boast  of  it  til  I  have 
beene  an  Eie  witnesse  of  it  my  selfe  which  I  entend 
god  willing  to  be  after  some  Discoverers  which  I 
send  out  this  next  February  shal  come  backe 

My  Lords  I  beseech  you  honor  me  with  what  com- 
mands you  find  necessary  for  his  sacred  Majesties 
service;  and  they  shall  be  faithfully  Executed  by  My 
Lords  Your  Lordships  most  humble  and  obedient 
servant  Will:  Berkeley. 

Jan.  22,  1671/2,  Virginia 
Endorsed :  January  22th,  1671/2.     A  Letter  from  the 

Governor  of  Virginia  received  the  [torn  away]. 


#4r 


V 
The  Expedition  of  Batts  and  Fallam 

John  Clayton's  Transcript  of  the  Journal  of  Robert  Fallam 
Extract  from  a  letter  of  John  Clajton  to  the  Royal  Society, 

August  17,   1688 
John  Mitchell's  "Remarks  on  the  Journal  of  Batts  and  Fal- 
lam" 


The  Expedition  of  Batts  and  Fallam 

John  Clayton's  Transcript  of  the  Journal  of  Robert 

Fallam 

A  Journal  from  Virginia,  beyond  the  A pailachian  moun- 
tains, in  Sept.  1 67 1.  Sent  to  the  Royal  Society  by  Mr. 
Clayton,  and  read  Aug.  i,  1688,  before  the  said  Society  ^*- 


142  Two  copies  were  made  of  Fallam's  journal,  one  by  the  Reverend 
John  Clayton,  the  other  for  Dr.  Daniel  Coxe,  designated  herein,  for  con- 
venience, as  the  Clayton  and  Coxe  copies,  respective  1}'.  The  Coxe  copy  was 
sent  to  the  home  government  by  Dr.  Coxe  in  March,  1687,  probably  in  con- 
nection with  one  of  his  colonial  schemes,  in  pursuit  of  which  he  fairly 
deluged  the  Lords  of  Trade  with  documents,  year  after  year,  and  is  in 
Public  Record  Office,  Colonial  Papers,  vol.  xxvii,  no.  4^,  and  printed  in  the 
Ne'w  York  Colonial  Documents,  vol.  iii,  193  et  seq.  It  is  in  the  third  per- 
son throughout,  with  many  minor  alterations  and  omissions,  the  former 
chiefly  designed  to  make  it  more  intelligible  to  British  readers.  The  sig- 
nificant variations  will  be  noted  in  their  places. 

The  Clayton  copy  was  made  in  Virginia  at  some  time  between  1684  and 
1686,  during  which  time  the  Reverend  John  Clayton,  was  rector  at  James- 
town [JVilliam  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  xv,  235].  It  was  sent  by  him  to 
the  Royal  Society,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  while  he  was  "rector  of 
Crofton  at  Wakefield  in  Yorkshire"  {^Miscellanea  Curiosa  (London,  1727), 
vol.  iii,  336],  and  read  before  them  in  Aug.,  1688.  Three  other  letters 
from  Clayton  to  the  Royal  Society  and  bearing  on  Virginia  are  printed  in 
the  Miscellanea  Curiosa,  and  reprinted  in  Force,  Tracts,  vol.  iii,  no.  12. 

The  journal  as  copied  by  Clayton  is  in  the  Royal  Society  Guard  Books, 
7,  part  I  [Andrews  and  Davenport,  Guide  to  Ms.  Materials  for  History  of 
U.S.  to  1^83  in  Britisli  Museum,  etc.'l.  It  is  also  in  British  Museum,  vol. 
4432,  entitled  'Tapers  Relating  to  the  Royal  Society,"  and  was  copied  there- 
from by  Bushnell  and  printed  in  the  American  Anthropologist,  vol.  ix,  45- 
56;  from  which  the  present  version  is  printed.  The  Clayton  copy  is  also 
printed  in  Fernow,  Ohio  Valley  in  Colonial  Days  (Albany,  1890),  220-229, 
from  the  Sparks  collection  in  Harvard  Library.  It  is  reprinted  from  Fer- 
now, without  credit,  in  the  JVilliam  and  Mary  Quarterly,  vol.  xv,  234-241. 


184  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

Thomas  Batts/"  Thomas  Woods  and  Robert  Fal- 
lows '^^  having  received  a  commission  from  the  hon- 
ourable Major  General  Wood  for  the  finding  out  the 
ebbing  and  flowing  of  the  Waters  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Mountaines  in  order  to  the  discovery  of  the  South 
Sea  accompanied  with  Penecute  a  great  man  of  the 
Apoinatack  Indians  and  Jack  Weason,  formerly  a  ser- 
vant to  Major  General  Wood  with  five  horses  set  for- 
ward from  the  Apomatacks  town  about  eight  of  the 
clock  in  the  morning,  being  Friday  Sept.  i,  1671.  That 
day  we  ^*^  traveled  above  forty  miles,  took  up  our 
quarters  and  found  that  we  had  travel'd  from  the 
Okenechee  path  due  west. 

Sept.  2.  we  traveled  about  forty-five  miles  and 
came  to  our  quarters  at  Sun  set  and  found  we  were  to 
the  north  of  the  West. 

Sept.  J.  we  traveled  west  and  by  south  and  about 
three  o'clock  came  to  a  great  swamp  a  mile  and  a  half 
or  two  miles  over  and  very  difficult  to  pass,  we  led 
our  horses  thro'  and  waded  twice  over  a  River  empty- 
ing itself  in  Roanoake  River.  After  we  were  over  we 
went  northwest  and  so  came  round  and  took  up  our 

1*3  Thomas  Batts  [Batt,  Batte]  was  in  Virginia  as  early  as  1667.  He 
was  son  of  John  Batts  and  grandson  of  Robert  Batts,  fellow  and  %'icar- 
master  of  University'  College,  Oxford.  With  his  brother  Henry,  to  whom 
Beverley  ascribes  the  leadership  of  the  present  expedition,  he  patented  five 
thousand,  eight  hundred,  seventy-eight  acres  of  land  in  the  Appomattox  Val- 
ley, August  29,  1668.  Henry  Batts  was  burgess  for  Charles  City  County 
in  1691.  Thomas  Batts  died  in  1698,  and  his  will  is  on  record  in  Henrico 
County,  Neill,  Virginia  Carolorum,  index  s.  v.  "Batt,"  and  especially  page 
327;  Calendar  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  IVest  Indies,  1689-1692, 
no.  1408;  Bruce,  Economic  History  of  Virginia,  vol.  i,  482,  vol.  ii,  164. 

^**  In  every  copy  of  this  journal  other  than  that  in  the  Anthropologist, 
and  in  Wood's  letter,  the  name  is  "Fallam,"  and  this  is  undoubtedly  correct. 

1*5  The  third  person  is  used  here  and  throughout  the  copy  in  the  Neiv 
York  Documents. 


Expedition  of  Baits  and  Fallam  185 

quarters  west.    This  day  we  traveled  forty  miles  good. 

Sept  4.  We  set  forward  and  about  two  of  the  clock 
arriv'd  at  the  Sapiny  ■•  Indian  town.  We  travelled 
south  and  by  west  course  till  about  even[ing]  and 
came  to  the  Saponys  west.  Here  we  were  very  joy-  . 
fully  and  kindly  received  with  firing  of  guns  and 
plenty  of  provisions.  We  here  hired  a  Sepiny  Indian 
to  be  our  guide  towards  the  Teteras/^"  a  nearer  way 
than  usual. 

Sept.  5-  Just  as  we  were  ready  to  take  horse  and 
march  from  the  Sapiny's  about  seven  of  the  clock  in 
the  Morning  we  heard  some  guns  go  off  from  the 
other  side  of  the  River.  They  were  siven  Apoma- 
tack  Indians  sent  by  Major  General  Wood  to  accom- 
pany us  in  our  Voyage.  We  hence  sent  back  a  horse 
belonging  to  Mr.  l^homas  Wood,  which  was  tired,  by 
a  Portugal,  belonging  to  Major  General  Wood,  whom 
we  here  found.'"  About  eleven  of  the  clock  we  set 
forward  and  that  night  came  to  the  town  of  the  Han- 
athaskies  which  we  judge  to  be  twenty-five  miles 
from  the  Sapenys,  they  are  lying  west  and  by  north 
in  an  Island  on  the  Sapony  River,''^  rich  Land. 

Sept.  6.  About  eleven  of  the  clock  we  set  forward 
from  the  Hanathaskies;  but  left  Mr.  Thomas  Wood 
at  the  town  dangerously  sick  of  the  Flux,  and  the  horse 
he  rode  on  belonging  to  Major  General  Wood  was 
likewise  taken  with  the  staggers  and  a  failing  in  his 
hinder  parts.    Our  course  was  this  day  West  and  by 

*  "Sapong"  throughout  in  the  Ne^   York  Colonial  Documents. 
146  "Tolera"  throughout  in  Neiv  York   Colonial  Documents. 
^*f  Neiv  York  Colonial  Documents:     "One  of  their  horses  being  tired 
they  sent  him  back." 

^*^This  is  the  Staunton  River. 


1 86  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

South  and  we  took  up  our  quarters  West  about  twenty 
miles  from  the  town.  This  afternoon  our  horses 
strayM  away  about  ten  of  the  clock/*" 

Sept.  7.  We  set  forward,  about  three  of  the  clock 
we  had  sight  of  the  mountains,  we  travelled  twenty- 
five  miles  over  very  hilly  and  stony  Ground  our 
course  westerly. 

Sept.  8.  We  set  out  by  sunrise  and  Travelled  ail 
day  a  west  and  by  north  course.  About  one  of  the 
clock  we  came  to  a  Tree  mark'd  in  the  past  with  a  coal 
M.A  N  I.  About  four  of  the  clock  we  came  to  the 
foot  of  the  first  mountain  went  to  the  top  and  then 
came  to  a  small  descent,  and  so  did  rise  again  and  then 
till  we  came  almost  to  the  bottom  was  a  very  steep 
descent.  We  travelled  all  day  over  very  stony,  rocky 
ground  and  after  thirty  miles  travill  this  day  we  came 
to  our  quarters  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  due  west. 
We  past  the  Sapony  River  twice  this  day. 

Sept.  g.  We  were  stirring  with  the  Sun  and  tra- 
velled west  and  after  a  little  riding  came  again  to  the 
Supany  River  where  it  was  very  narrow,  and  ascended 
the  second  mountain  which  wound  up  west  and  by 
south  with  several  springs  and  fallings,  after  which 
we  came  to  a  steep  descent  at  the  foot  whereof  was  a 
lovely  descending  Valley  about  six  miles  over  with 
curious  small  risings.  .  .'^°  Our  course  over  it  was 
southwest.  After  we  were  over  that,  we  came  to  a  very 
steep  descent,  at  the  foot  whereof  stood  the  Tetera 
Town  ^^^  in   a  very  rich  swamp  between  a  branch 

^'^^Nein  York  Colonial  Documents:  two  of  their  horses  strayed. 
'^^^  Ne^  York  Colonial  Documents:  read  in  the  hiatus  "sometimes  indif- 
ferent good  way,   their  course  etc." 
151  Mear  Salem,  Va. 


Expedition  of  Baits  and  Fallam  187 

and  the  main  River  of  Roanoke  circled  about  with 
mountains.  We  got  thither  about  three  of  the  clock 
after  we  had  travelled  twenty-five  miles.  Here  we 
were  exceedingly  civilly  entertain'd. 

[^Sept.  Q-ll.]  Saturday  night,  Sunday  and  mon- 
day  we  staid  at  the  Toteras.  Perceute  being  taken 
very  sick  of  a  fever  and  ague  every  afternoon,  not 
withstanding  on  tuesday  morning  about  nine  of  the 
clock  we  resolved  to  leave  our  horses  with  the  Toteras 
and  set  forward.^" 

Sept.  12.  We  left  the  town  West  and  by  North  we 
traveird  that  day  sometimes  southerly,  sometimes 
westerly  as  the  path  went  over  several  high  mountains 
and  steep  Vallies  crossing  several  branches  and  the 
River  Roanoke  several  times  all  exceedingly  stony 
ground  until  about  four  of  the  clock  Perceute  being 
taken  with  his  fit  and  verry  weary  we  took  up  our 
quarters  by  the  side  of  Roanoke  River  almost  at  the 
head  of  it  at  the  foot  of  the  great  mountain.  Our 
course  was  west  by  north,  having  travill'd  twenty- 
five  miles.  At  the  Teteras  we  hired  one  of  their  In- 
dians for  our  Guide  and  left  one  of  the  Apomatock 
Indians  there  sick.^^^ 

Sept.  /J."*  In  the  morning  we  set  forward  early. 
After  we  had  travelled  about  three  miles  we  came  to 
the  foot  of  the  great  mountain  and  found  a  very  steep 
ascent  so  that  we  could  scarse  keep  ourselves  from 
sliding  down  again.    It  continued  for  three  miles  with 

152  ^^qy  YQfjj  Colonial  Documents:  this  sentence  does  not  appear;  the 
information  condensed  into  the  entries  for  Sept.  9  and  12. 

^^^  Nenu  York  Colonial  Documents:  the  entry  for  Sept.  12  is  paraphrased 
and  the  last  sentence  omitted. 

'^^*Ne'Ltj  York  Colonial  Documents:  omit  the  first  sentence  of  this  entry 
and  state  that  the  mountain  was  reached  "after  a  mile's  travel." 


1 88  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

small  intermissions  of  better  way.  right  up  by  the 
path  on  the  left  we  saw  the  proportions  of  the  mon.'^^ 
[whereof  they  have  given  an  account  it  seems  in  a 
former  relation  which  I  have  not.  -  Note  by  Mr. 
Clayton].  When  we  were  got  up  to  the  Top  of  the 
mountain  and  set  down  very  weary  we  saw  very  high 
mountains  lying  to  the  north  and  south  as  far  as  we 
could  discern.  Our  course  up  the  mountain  was  west 
by  north.  A  very  small  descent  on  the  other  side  and 
as  soon  as  over  we  found  the  vallies  tending  westerly. 
It  was  a  pleasing  tho'  dreadful  sight  to  see  the  moun- 
tains and  Hills  as  if  piled  one  upon  another.  After 
we  had  travelled  about  three  miles  from  the  moun- 
tains, easily  descending  ground  about  twelve  of  the 
clock  we  came  to  two  trees  mark'd  with  a  coal  MA 
NI.  the  other  cut  in  with  MA  and  several  other 
scratchments. 

Hard  by  a  Run  just  like  the  swift  creek  at  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph's in  Virginia, "°  emptying  itself  sometimes  west- 
erly sometimes  northerly  with  curious  meadows  on 
each  [side].  Going  forward  we  found  rich  ground 
but  having  curious  rising  hills  and  brave  meadows 
with  grass  about  man's  hight.  many  rivers  running 
west-north-west  and  several  Runs  from  the  southerly 
mountains  which  'wt  saw  as  we  march'd,  which  run 
northerly  into  the  great  River.  After  we  had  travelled 
about  seven  miles  we  came  to  a  very  steep  descent 

'^^^  Neiu  York  Colonial  Documents',  omit  this  sentence. 

156^^^  York  Colonial  Documents:  "a  pretty  swift  small  current."  The 
stream  referred  to  is  Swift  Creek,  which  empties  into  the  Appomattox  near 
Petersburg,  and  which  in  1670  was  called  "Randolph's  River."  Augustine 
Herman,  Map  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  (London,  1670),  in  Virginia  and 
Maryland  Boundary  Report,   1873. 


Expedition  of  Baits  and  Fallam  189 

where  are  found  a  great  Run/"  which  emptied  itself 
so  we  supposed  into  the  great  River  northerly,  our 
course  being  as  the  path  went,  west-south-west.  We 
set  forward  west  and  had  not  gone  far  but  we  met 
again  with  the  River,  still  broad  running  west  and  by 
north.  We  went  over  the  great  run  emptying  itself 
northerly  into  the  great  River.  After  wc  had 
marched  about  six  miles  northwest  and  by  north  we 
came  to  the  River  again  where  it  was  much  broader 
than  at  the  two  other  places.  It  ran  here  west  and  by 
south  and  so  as  we  suppose  round  up  westerly.  Here 
we  took  up  our  quarters,  after  we  had  waded  over,  for 
the  night.  Due  west,  the  soil,  the  farther  we  went 
[is]  the  richer  and  full  of  bare  meadows  and  old 
fields. '""  ["Old  fields"  is  a  common  expression  for 
land  that  has  been  cultivated  by  the  Indians  and  left 
fallow,  which  are  generally  overrun  with  what  they 
call  broom  grass.  -  Mr.  Clayton.] 

Sept.  14.  We  set  forward  before  sunrise  our  pro- 
visions being  all  spent  we  travel'd  as  the  path  went 
sometimes  westerly  sometimes  southerly  over  good 
ground  but  stony,  sometimes  rising  hills  and  then 
steep  Descents  as  we  march'd  in  a  clear  place  at  the 
top  of  a  hill  we  saw  lying  south  west  a  curious  pros- 
pect of  hills  like  waves  raised  by  a  gentle  breese  of 
wind  rising  one  upon  another.  Mr.  Batts  supposed 
he  saw  sayles;  but  I  rather  think  them  to  be  white 

^''''This  "great  run"  was  really  the  New  River  and  identical  with  their 
"great  river."  That  they  realized  this  is  shown  by  the  second  sentence 
following  and  by  the  last  words  of  the  entry  for  Sept.  14. 

158  This  paragraph  varies  greatly  in  the  Neiu  York  Colonial  Documents, 
apparently  due  to  a  desire  of  the  transcriber  to  make  the  geography  clearer. 
But  his  version  is  not  any  more  understandable  and  is  probably  incorrect. 


190  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

clifts.'"'  We  marched  about  twenty  miles  this  day 
and  about  three  of  the  clock  we  took  up  our  quarters 
to  see  if  the  Indians  could  kill  us  some  Deer,  being 
west  and  by  north,  very  weary  and  hungry  and  Per- 
ceute  continued  very  ill  yet  desired  to  go  forward. 
We  came  this  day  over  several  brave  runs  and  hope 
tomorrow  to  see  the  main  River  again. 

Sept.  75.  Yesterday  in  the  afternoon  and  this  day 
we  lived  a  Dog's  life  -  hunger  and  ease.  Our  Indians 
having  done  their  best  could  kill  us  no  meat.  The 
Deer  they  said  were  in  such  herds  and  the  ground  so 
dry  that  one  or  other  of  them  could  spy  them.  About 
one  of  the  clock  we  set  forward  and  went  about  fifteen 
miles  over  some  exceedingly  good,  some  indififerent 
ground,  a  west  and  by  north  course  till  we  came  to  a 
great  run  that  empties  itself  west  and  by  north  as  we 
suppose  into  the  great  River  which  we  hope  is  nigh 
at  hand.  As  we  march'd  we  met  with  some  wild 
gooseberries  and  exceeding  large  haws  with  which  we 
were  forced  to  feed  ourselves. 

Sept.  16.  Our  guides  went  from  us  yesterday  and 
we  saw  him  no  more  till  we  returned  to  the  Toras  "^ 
Our  Indians  went  aranging  betimes  to  see  and  kill  us 
some  Deer  or  meat.  One  came  and  told  us  they  heard 
a  Drum  and  a  Gun  go  ofif  to  the  northwards.  They 
brought  us  some  exceedingly  good  Grapes  and  killed 
t^vo  turkies  which  were  very  welcome  and  with  which 
we  feasted  ourselves  and  about  ten  of  the  clock  set 

^^°  New  York  Colonial  Documents:  "Mr.  Batts  supposed  he  saw  houses, 
but  Mr.  Fallam  rather  tooke  them  to  be  white  cliffs  .  .  ."  This  sen- 
tence shows  that  Fallam  wrote  the  journal. 

181  This  sentence  is  in  Neiv  York  Colonial  Documents  put  under  the 
entry  for  Sept.  15. 


Expedition  of  Baits  and  Fallam  191 


forward  and  after  we  had  travelled  about  ten  miles 
one  of  our  Indians  killed  us  a  Deer  and  presently 
afterwards  wc  had  sight  of  a  curious  River  like  Apa- 
matack  River."'"  Its  course  here  was  north  and  so  as 
we  suppose  runs  west  about  certain  curious  mountains 
we  saw  westward.  Here  we  had  up  our  quarters,  our 
course  having  been  west.  We  understand  the  Mohe- 
can  '"^  Indians  did  here  formerly  live.  It  cannot  be 
long  since  for  we  found  corn  stalks  in  the  ground. 

Sept.  ly.  Early  in  the  morning  we  went  to  seek 
some  trees  to  mark  our  Indians  being  impatient  of 
longer  stay  by  reason  it  was  like  to  be  bad  weather, 
and  that  it  was  so  difficult  to  get  provisions.  We 
found  four  trees  exceeding  fit  for  our  purpose  that 
had  been  half  bared  by  our  Indians,  standing  after 
one  the  other.  We  first  proclaimed  the  King  in  these 
words:  "Long  live  Charles  the  Second,  by  the  grace 
of  God  King  of  England,  Scotland,  France,  Ireland 
and  Virginia  and  of  all  the  Territories  thereunto  be- 
longing. Defender  of  the  faith  etc."  firing  some  guns 
and  went  to  the  first  tree  which  we  marked  thus  /^ 
with  a  pair  of  marking  irons  for  his  sacred  ^  r 
majesty. 

Then    the    next     \J\Q  for    the    right    honourable 
Governor  Sir  William  Berkley,  the  third  thus     /\/\J 
for  the  honourable  Major  General  Wood.     The  last 
thus:    "^     :   RF.  P.  for  Perceute  who  said  he  would 
learn  Englishman."*    And  on  another  tree  hard  by 

"^^2  New  York  Colonial  Documents:  "the  Thames  agt  Chelcey." 
'^^'^  Ne<iv  York  Colonial  Documents:    "Mohetans."    The  sentence  is  trans- 
posed and  paraphrased. 

^^*  Neiv  York  Colonial  Documents:     "P  for  Perecute  who  said  he  would 
be  an  Englishman." 


192  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

stand  these  letters  one  under  another  '''^  TT.  NP.  VE. 
R  after  we  had  done  we  went  ourselves  down  to 
the  river  side ;  but  not  without  great  difficulty  it  being 
a  piece  of  very  rich  ground  where  on  the  Moketans  ^""^ 
had  formerly  lived,  and  grown  up  with  weeds  and 
small  prickly  Locusts  and  Thistles  to  a  very  great 
height  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to  pass.  It  cost 
us  hard  labour  to  get  thro'.  When  we  came  to  the 
River  side  we  found  it  better  and  broader  than  ex- 
pected, much  like  James  River  at  Col.  Stagg's,  the 
falls  much  like  these  falls.'"  We  imagined  by  the 
Water  marks  it  flows  here  about  three  feat.  It  was 
ebbing  Water  when  we  were  here.  We  set  up  a  stick 
by  the  Water  side  but  found  it  ebb  very  slowly.  Our 
Indians  kept  such  a  hollowing  that  we  durst  not 
stay  any  longer  to  make  further  tryal.  Immediately 
upon  coming  to  our  quarters  we  returned  homewards 
and  when  we  were  on  the  top  of  a  Hill  we  turned 
about  and  saw  over  against  us,  westerly,  over  a  cer- 
tain delightful  hill  a  fog  arise  and  a  glimmering  light 
as  from  water.  We  supposed  there  to  be  a  great 
Bay."**  We  came  to  the  Toteras  Tuesday  night  where 
we  found  our  horses,  and  ourselves  wel  entertain'd. 
We  immediately  had  the  news  of  Mr.  Byrd  and  his 

1"*  The  letters  I  N  are  inserted  before  the  rest,  in  Neiu  York  Colonial 
Documents. 

166  "Mohetans"  in  Neia  York  Colonial  Documents. 

^^"^  New  York  Colonial  Documents:  "full  as  broad  as  the  Thames  over 
agt  Waping,  Ye  falls,  much  like  the  Falls  of  James  River  in  Virginia." 
On  Augustine  Herman's  map  of  Va.,  1670,  an  island  in  the  James  below 
the  falls  is  called  "Staggs  He."  The  Stegg  referred  to  was  the  uncle  of 
William  Byrd  I.  See  Byrd,  William,  JVritings,  pp.  xiv-xv.  The  point 
reached  by  the  explorers  was  Peters'  Falls,  where  the  New  River  breaks 
through   Peters'    Mountain,  near  Petersburg,   Va. 

1^8  Ne<ia  York  Colonial  Documents:    "Bog." 


Expedition  of  Batts  and  Fallam  193 


great  company's  Discoveries  three  miles  from  the 
Tetera's  Town.  We  have  found  Mohetan  Indians 
who  having  intelligence  of  our  coming  were  afraid  it 
had  been  to  fight  them  and  had  sent  him  to  the  To- 
tera's  to  inquire.  We  gave  him  satisfaction  to  the 
contrary  and  that  we  came  as  friends,  presented  him 
with  three  or  four  shots  of  powder.  He  told  us  by  our 
Interpreter,  that  we  had  [been]  from  the  mountains 
half  way  to  the  place  they  now  live  at.  That  the  next 
town  beyond  them  lived  upon  plain  level,  from 
whence  came  abundance  of  salt.  That  he  could  in- 
form us  no  further  by  reason  that  there  were  a  great 
company  of  Indians  that  lived  upon  the  great  Water. 

Sept.  21.  After  very  civil  entertainment  we  came 
from  the  Toteras  and  on  Sunday  morning  the  24th 
we  came  to  the  Hanahaskies.  We  found  Mr.  Wood 
dead  and  hurried  and  his  horse  likewise  dead.  After 
civil  entertainment,  with  firing  of  guns  at  parting 
which  is  more  than  usual. 

Sept.  2S-  on  monday  morning  we  came  from 
thence  and  reached  to  the  Sapony's  that  night  where 
w^e  stayed  till  Wednesday. 

Sept.  2J.  We  came  from  thence  they  having  been 
very  courteous  to  us.  At  night  we  came  to  the  Apa- 
matack  Town,  hungry,  wet  and  weary. 

Oct.  I  being  Sunday  morning  we  arrived  at  Fort 
Henry.  God's  holy  name  be  praised  for  our  preser- 
vation."'' 


^^^Nevi  York  Colonial  Documents  condense  and  paraphrase  the  entries 
Sept.  2i-0ct.  I,  and  read  in  lieu  of  the  last  sentence  "Christo  duce  et  auspice 
Christo." 


194  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

Extract  from  a  Letter  *  of  Mr.  Clayton  to  the  Royal 
Society,  read  to  them  October  24,  1688  ''° 

Wakefield,  Aug.  17,  1688. 
My  last  was  the  Journal  of  Thomas  Batt,  Thomas 
Woods,  and  Robert  Fallam.  I  know  Col.  Byrd,  that 
is  mentioned  to  have  been  about  that  time  as  far  as  the 
Toteras.  He  is  one  of  the  intelligentest  Gentlemen  in 
all  Virginia,  and  knows  more  of  Indian  affairs  than 
any  man  in  the  Country.  I  discoursed  him  about  the 
River  on  the  other  side  the  Mountains  said  to  ebb  and 
flow,  which  he  assured  me  was  a  mistake  in  them,  for 
that  it  must  run  into  a  Lake  now  call'd  Petite,  which  is 
fresh  water,  for  since  that  time  a  Colony  of  the  French 
are  come  down  from  Canadas,  and  have  seated  them- 
selves in  the  back  of  Virginia,  where  Fallam  ^^^  and 
the  rest  supposed  there  might  be  a  Bay,  but  is  a  Lake, 
to  which  they  have  given  the  name  of  Lake  Petite 
there  being  several  large  lakes  betwixt  that  and  Can- 
ada. The  French  possessing  themselves  of  these 
Lakes,  no  doubt  will  in  a  short  time  be  absolutely 
Masters  of  the  Beaver  trade,  the  greatest  number  of 

*  Supplement   to   the   Letter  Books,   volj  ii,  483. 

^^°  This  is  one  of  the  three  letters  of  Clayton  to  the  Royal  Society  regard- 
ing Virginia  published  in  the  Miscellanea  Curiosa  and  in  Force's  Tracts 
[footnote  142].  It  is  also  in  the  Royal  Society  Transactiojts,  vol.  xvii,  no. 
206,  p.  978,  December,  1693.  In  all  these  three  forms  the  first  sentence,  men- 
tioning the  Fallam  journal,  is  omitted.  The  next  three  sentences  are  altered 
and  transposed,  and  the  statement  that  Byrd  had  been  as  far  as  the  Toteras 
disappears.  The  present  extract  is  printed  in  Fernow  {^footnote  142] 
from  the  Sparks  collection,  and  in  the  Anthropologist  [vide  ibid.),  vol.  ix, 
54  et  seq.,  just  as  found  herein.  We  follow  a  transcript  of  the  original 
manuscript,  made  originally  in  London  by  Miss  Agnes  C.  Laut,  but  also 
collated  for  this  volume. 

^^'  This  sentence  remains  thus  in  all  the  versions. 


Expedition  of  Baits  and  Fallam 195 


Beavers  being  caught  there.  The  Coh^nel  told  me 
likewise  that  the  communication  of  the  Lake  of  Can- 
ada, he  was  assured,  was  a  mistake,  for  the  River  sup- 
posed to  come  out  of  it  had  no  communication  with 
any  of  the  Lakes,  or  they  with  one  another,  but  were 
distinct. 

1 671,  Sept.      I.     They  travell'd  40  miles  from  the 
Apomatack's  Town. 

2.  45  miles. 

3.  40  miles. 

4.  Arrived  at  Sapiny  till  two  o'clock. 

5.  Came  to  Hanahasky  25  miles  from 

Sapiny. 

6.  20  miles. 

7.  25  miles. 

8.  Came  to  the  foot  of  the  first  moun- 

tain due  west,  30  miles 

9.  Came  to  Toteras  Town,  25  miles. 

1 2.  Leave  Totera  and  come  to  the  River 

Roanoke,  almost  at  the  head,  25 
miles. 

13.  22  miles. 

14.  14  miles. 

15.  15  miles. 

16.  10  and  see  a  large  River  running 

north. 

17.  they  proclaim'd  K.  Ch.  2. 


196  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

Remarks  *  on  the  Journal  of  Batts  and  Fallam;  in 

their  Discovery  of  the  Western  Parts 

of  Virginia  in  l6jl  '''  {by  John 

Mitchell,  M.D.,  F.R.S.]  "^ 

This  discovery  of  Batts  and  Fallam  is  well  known 
in  the  history  of  Virginia,  and  there  is  no  manner  of 
doubt  of  its  being  authentic,  altho'  it  has  not  yet  been 
published  by  the  Royal  Society.  The  account  given 
of  this  Discovery  by  R.  B.  (Robert  Beverley,  Esq'.,  a 
Gentleman  of  note  and  distinction  in  the  Countrey, 
who  was  well  acquainted  with  it  and  its  History) 
agrees  very  well  with  this  original  account  of  it; 
altho'  he  is  not  so  particular  in  describing  the  place 
that  these  Discoverers  went  to,  that  we  may  be  able  to 
fix  upon  the  Spot,  which  I  think  we  may  do  from  the 
Journal  itself,  and  that  from  the  following  considera- 
tions. 

I.  The  Appamatuck  Town,  the  Place  that  they 
went  from,  is  well  known  in  Virginia  to  this  day,  at 
least  the  River  it  stood  upon,  which  is  the  Southern 
Branch  of  James  River,  that  is  well  known  by  the 
name  of  Appamattox;  and  Capt.  Smith,  who  was  at 
this  Town  of  Appamatuck,  as  he  calls  it,  laies  it  down 
on  the  River  of  Appomatox,  a  little  below  the  Falls, 
opposite  to  where  the  Towns  of  Petersburg  or  Bland- 
ford  now  stand;  as  may  be  seen  by  comparing  his 

^  British   Museum,    4432,   Papers   relating   to   Royal   Society. 

^'-  Printed  in  Femow,  Ohio  Valley  in  Colonial  Days,  230-240,  and  in  the 
Anthropologist,  vol.  ix,  55  et  seq.  {^footnote  142].  Printed  herein  from  copy 
of  the  original  manuscript  made  in  London  by  Miss  Agnes  C.  Laut,  and 
collated  in  London. 

173  These  words  are  in  another  hand  and  blacker  ink,  but  not  enclosed 
in  brackets  in  the  manuscript. 


Expedition  of  Batts  and  Fallam  197 


map  of  Virginia  with  our  Map  of  North  America.* 

2.  From  this  Town  of  Appamatuck  they  set  out 
along  the  Path  that  leads  to  Acconeechy,  which  is  an 
Indian  l^own  on  the  Borders  of  Virginia  and  Caro- 
lina, marked  in  all  our  Maps;  from  which  path  they 
travelled  due  west.  Now  you  will  see  both  these  Roads 
laid  down  in  our  Map  of  North  America,  and  exact- 
ly as  they  are  described  in  this  Journal,  they  being 
the  two  Roads  that  lead  from  the  Falls  of  Appamat- 
tox  River  Southward  to  Carolina,  and  westward  to 
our  Settlements  on  Wood  River  ''*  in  Virginia. 

3.  This  Road  that  goes  to  the  westward,  which  was 
the  one  that  our  Travellers  went,  crosses  three 
Branches  of  Roanoke  River,  a  little  below  the  moun- 
tains, just  as  it  is  described  in  the  Journal,  as  may  be 
seen  by  comparing  the  Journal  with  our  Map  above- 
mentioned.  This  Branch  of  Roanoke  River  is  called 
Sapony  River  in  the  Journal,  which  has  been  called 
Staunton  River,  (in  memory  of  the  Lady  of  the  late 
Governor  of  Virginia)  ever  since  the  survey  of  those 
Parts  in  running  the  Boundary  Line  between  Vir- 
ginia and  Carolina  in  1729.  The  Sapony  and  Totera 
Indians  mentioned  in  the  Journal  were  then  removed 
farther  South,  upon  the  Heads  of  Pede  River,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  Map  of  Carolina  by  Mr.  Mosley,  one 
of  the  surveyors  in  running  that  Line;  and  they  are 
Now  removed  to  the  Southward  of  that,  among  the 
Catawbas,  as  it  is  well  known  that  all  the  Indians  of 
those  Parts  have  done  for  many  years,  in  order  to  pro- 
tect themselves  against  the  Iroquois,  who  have  over- 

*This  refers  to  Mitchell's  Map  of  the  British  Colonies   (1755)- 
1^*  Vide,  footnote  142. 


198  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

run  all  those  Parts;  and  here  we  find  a  river  that  still 
retains  the  name  of  Sapony  or  Johnston  River,  but  a 
great  way  to  the  southward  of  the  River  mentioned  in 
the  Journal  by  that  name. 

4.  From  these  Branches  of  Roanoke  River  they 
passed  over  the  mountains,  and  came  to  a  large  River 
West  of  the  Mountains,  running  North  and  South; 
which  plainly  appears  from  this  account  of  it  to  have 
been  what  we  call  Wood  River  in  Virginia,  which  is 
well  known  and  well  settled  by  our  People  there,  both 
above  and  below  the  Place  where  these  People  dis- 
covered it;  and  they  frequently  pass  the  Mountains 
now  in  going  to  and  from  Wood  River,  about  the 
same  place  that  is  described  in  the  Journal. 

5.  Nigh  this  River  they  saw  from  the  tops  of  the 
Mountains  an  appearance  of  a  water  at  a  distance,  like 
a  Lake,  or  arm  of  the  Sea.  The  same  observation  is 
made  by  another  Person,  Mr.  Christopher  Gist,  who 
lately  surveyed  this  Countrey  hereabouts,  and  indeed 
upon  the  spots  described  in  the  Journal,  as  appears 
from  both  their  Routes  as  laid  down  in  our  Map 
above-mentioned,  which  crost  one  another  about  the 
Place  where  these  Discoverers  fell  in  with  the  Great 
River,  as  they  call  it.  The  water  seen  by  Gist  was 
known  by  him  to  be  Wood  River  a  little  lower  down, 
where  it  passes  a  great  Ridge  of  the  Mountains  that 
lye  to  the  westward. 

6.  When  they  arrived  at  this  River,  they  were  in- 
formed of  a  numerous  and  warlike  Nation  of  Indians, 
that  lived  on  the  Great  Water,  and  made  Salt,  the  ac- 
counts of  whom  prevented  their  going  any  farther; 
all  which  is  agreeable  to  the  History  of  those  Times. 


Expedition  of  Baits  and  Fallam  199 


The  Indians  they  mean  were  the  antient  Chawanoes 
or  Chaouanons,  who  lived  to  the  westward  and  North- 
ward of  the  Place  that  these  Discoverers  were  at;  and 
were  at  this  Time,  1671,  engaged  in  a  hot  and  bloody 
war  with  the  Iroquois,  in  which  they  were  so  closely 
pressed  at  this  time,  that  they  were  entirely  extirpated 
or  incorporated  with  the  Iroquois  the  year  following. 
These  People  might  make  Salt  no  doubt,  as  the  pres- 
ent Inhabitants  of  those  Parts  do,  from  the  many  Salt 
Springs  that  are  found  on  the  Rivers  Ohio  and  Missi- 
sipi.  And  as  for  the  great  water  that  they  lived  upon, 
that  appears  even  by  name  to  have  been  the  Missisipi, 
which  is  so  called  from  Meseha  Cebe,  two  words  in 
the  Indian  Language  that  signify  the  Great  River  or 
Water;  so  that  if  we  had  the  Indian  name  of  this 
Great  Water,  mentioned  by  our  travellers,  instead  of 
the  Interpretation  of  it  in  English,  it  is  possible  it 
might  have  been  the  same  with  Missisipi;  and 
whether  or  not,  the  name  they  give  it  we  see  means  the 
same  thing. 

7.  The  Distance  that  these  people  travelled  was 
three  hundred  and  thirty-eight  miles,  besides  what 
they  went  on  the  fourth  day  of  their  Journey,  which 
they  do  not  mention,  but  by  their  usual  rate  of  travel- 
ling might  be  about  eighteen  or  twenty  miles,  which 
makes  about  three  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  all,  and 
allmost  due  west.  This  is  much  farther  to  the  west- 
ward than  we  lay  down  Wood  River  at  present,  when 
we  have  had  its  true  western  Distance  actually  mea- 
sured, in  running  the  Boundary  between  Virginia  and 
Carolina.  But  it  is  very  probable,  as  Mr.  Beverley 
sales  in  his  History,  that  these  Travellers  in  passing 


200  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

the  Mountains  in  particular  might  not  advance  above 
three  or  four  miles  a  Day  in  a  Strait  Course.  It  has 
been  generally  found  by  our  Surveyors  in  the  woods 
of  America,  as  I  have  been  told  by  some  of  them,  and 
as  appears  indeed  from  their  Surveys  compared  with 
the  Accounts  of  Travellers,  that  a  true  measured  dis- 
tance on  a  strait  course  is  about  one  third  of  the  usual 
Distance  computed  by  Travellers  in  the  woods,  where 
they  have  no  strait  Roads  and  known  Distances  to 
guide  them.  Accordingly  we  find  from  these  Surveys 
of  the  Countrey,  that  it  is  about  one  hundred  and  forty 
Miles  in  a  strait  course  from  the  Falls  of  Appomatox 
River  to  Wood  River  in  Virginia,  which  is  a  little 
more  than  one  third  of  the  Distance  computed  by  our 
Discoverers. 

Again;  it  is  an  usual  way  to  compute  Distances  in 
the  Woods  of  America  by  Dayes  journeys,  and  those 
that  are  used  to  it,  come  pretty  nigh  the  truth,  by  al- 
lowing twenty-five  or  thirty  Miles  a  Day  according  to 
the  Road,  which  makes  about  ten  Miles  a  Day  in  a 
strait  Course.  Now  these  People  travelled  fifteen 
Daies,  and  by  this  rule  must  have  travelled  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  Miles  on  a  strait  Road ;  and  accordingly 
we  find  it  just  one  hundred  and  sixty  Miles  from  the 
Falls  of  Appomatox  River  in  Virginia,  where  they 
set  out,  to  Wood  River,  upon  the  Road  as  it  is  laid 
down  in  our  Map  of  North  America,  in  which  the 
Longitude  or  western  Distances  are  laid  down  from 
the  late  Surveys  of  those  Parts. 

From  these  several  considerations  compared  to- 
gether, it  plainly  appears,  that  the  Great  River,  as 
they  call  it,  which  these  People  discovered  on  the 


Expedition  of  Batts  and  Fallam  201 

West  side  of  the  Mountains  of  Virginia,  was  this 
Branch  of  the  River  Ohio  that  is  well  known  by  the 
name  of  Wood  River;  which  is  the  chief  and  principal 
Branch  of  the  Ohio,  that  rises  in  the  Mountains  of 
South  Carolina,  and  running  through  North  Carolina 
and  Virginia,  falls  into  the  Ohio  about  midway  be- 
tween Fort  du  Quesne  and  the  Missisipi ;  and  the  place 
they  discovered  it  at  seems  to  be  about  the  middle  of 
that  River;  which  has  alwaies  retained  the  name  of 
Wood  River,  from  this  Major  General  Wood,  or  Col. 
Wood  as  he  is  called  in  Virginia,  who  we  see  by  the 
Journal  was  the  Author  of  this  Discovery. 

This  Journal  then  is  a  plain  Narration  of  well 
Known  Matters  of  Fact,  relating  to  the  Discoveries  of 
those  western  Parts  of  Virginia,  and  that  many  years 
before  any  others  even  pretend  to  have  made  any  Dis- 
coveries in  those  or  any  other  of  the  western  Parts  of 
North  America,  beyond  the  Apalachean  Mountains. 
It  contains  likewise  plain  Proofs  of  the  other  Dis- 
coveries that  were  made  here  and  hereabouts  some 
time  before,  which  were  made  by  one  Needham,  by 
order  of  Col.  Wood  of  Virginia;  and  the  inverted 
Letters,  MA.,  NE.  found  on  the  trees  by  our  Travel- 
lers, seem  to  have  been  the  names  of  these  two  Persons, 
cut  on  the  Trees  as  a  Memorial  of  their  Discoveries, 
as  is  usually  done  by  Travellers  in  the  Woods,  and  as 
we  see  was  done  by  ours  at  this  Time.'""  The  many 
Letters  they  found  on  the  Trees  on  Wood  River,  are 
likewise  plain  Proofs  of  others  having  been  there  be- 
fore them.    This  is  a  plain  confirmation  of  what  is 

^^5  Mitchell's  attempted  solution  of  this  puzzle  is  interesting,  but  hardly 
correct. 


202  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

related  by  Mr.  Coxe  '""  in  a  memorial  presented  by 
him  to  King  William  in  1699,  and  by  several  others, 
that  all  those  western  Parts  of  Virginia  were  dis- 
covered by  Col.  Wood,  in  several  journies  from  the 
year  1654  ^^  1664. 

These  Discoveries  are  the  more  interesting  at  this 
Time,  as  those  Parts  are  now  claimed  by  the  French 
merely  and  solely  upon  a  frivolous  Pretext  of  a  prior 
Discovery  by  Mr.  La  Salle  in  1680;  who  built  the 
Fort  of  Crevecour  on  or  below  the  Lake  Pimiteoni  in 
that  year,  which  seems  to  be  the  Lake  Petite  alluded 
to  in  the  extract  of  M.  Clayton's  Letter,  from  a  very 
imperfect  knowledge  of  it;  which  Lake  upon  the 
River  Illinois  is  not  less  perhaps  than  a  thousand 
miles  beyond  or  to  the  westward  of  Fort  du  Quesne 
and  the  other  places  the  French  now  claim  on  the 
River  Ohio  in  consequence  of  that  Discovery  as  they 
call  it. 

Besides  M.  La  Salle  had  even  that  Discovery  of  his, 
that  has  been  so  much  extolled  and  magnifyed,  from 
the  English;  who  by  being  so  well  settled  in  so  many 
Parts  of  this  Continent,  might  surely  very  naturally 
conclude  and  easily  know  from  many  accounts  of  the 
Natives,  that  there  was  a  very  extensive  Continent  to 
the  westward  of  them;  which  these  Discoveries  in 
Virginia,  as  well  as  the  Travels  of  Ferdinando  Soto 
through  Florida  and  over  the  Rio  Grande,  as  he  calls 
it,  or  the  Missisipi,  in  1541,  that  had  been  published  to 
the  world,  might  give  them  some  more  particular  ac^ 
count  of,  and  excite  their  curiosity  to  make  farther 
Discoveries  in  it.    Accordingly,  in  the  year  1678,  a 

^'"''  History  of  CaroUma. 


Expedition  of  Batts  and  Fallam  203 

Party  of  People  from  New-England  discovered  all 
the  western  Parts  of  America  to  the  Northward  of 
Virginia,  as  far  as  the  Missisipi,  and  a  great  way  be- 
yond it;  which  Discovery  of  the  English  gave  occa- 
sion to  the  Discovery  of  the  same  Parts  two  years 
afterwards,  by  Mr.  La  Salle;  for  the  Indians  who 
were  with  the  English  and  served  them  as  Guides  in 
this  Discovery  went  to  Canada  upon  their  return,  and 
gave  an  Account  of  these  Discoveries  of  the  English 
to  the  French,  who  thereupon  set  out  to  make  the 
same  Discovery;  by  virtue  of  which  they  now  pre- 
tend to  claim  nine  tenths  at  least  of  all  the  known 
Parts  of  the  Continent  of  North  America,  and  all  the 
rest  that  is  not  known,  which  may  be  as  much  more 
by  all  accounts! '" 

It  is  true,  our  People  have  not  wrote  many  Histories 
of  their  Discoveries,  as  the  French  have,  nor  even 
published  those  that  have  been  wrote,  we  see,  any 
more  than  the  Spaniards;  but  that  we  have  made 
many  such  Discoveries,  appears  best  from  the  Settle- 
ments that  we  have  made,  which  compared  with  those 
of  the  French  are  about  twenty  to  one.  In  the  year 
1714,  immediately  ofter  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht,  Col. 
Spotswoode,  Governor  of  Virginia  wentover  the  Apa- 
lachean  Mountains  himself  in  Person,  in  company 
with  several  Gentlemen  of  the  Countrey,  that  are  and 
have  been  well  known  to  me,  who  had  a  good  Road 
cleared  over  them,  and  many  Settlements  were  made 
beyond  those  Mountains  soon  afterwards,  both  in  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Parts  of  Virginia,  but  chiefly 
in  the  Northern   Parts  leading  towards   the  Ohio; 

1^"  Mitcbell  evidently  is   f()lIowin<:;  Coxe's  ston-,  see  pajres  229-247. 


204  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

which  Settlements  extended  to  Logs  Town  on  the 
River  Ohio,  long  before  the  late  encroachments  and 
usurpations  of  the  French  there.  The  English  first 
settled  on  the  Ohio  from  Pennsylvania  in  the  year 
1725,  as  appears  from  their  Treaty  with  the  Indians 
at  Albany  in  1754,  and  many  other  accounts.  In  1736 
those  Parts  were  duely  surveyed  and  laid  off  by  a 
company  of  Surveyors  as  far  as  the  Head  Springs  of 
the  River  Patowmack;  and  in  1739  or  1740  a  Party 
of  People  were  sent  out  by  the  Government  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  traversed  the  whole  Countrey,  down  Wood 
River  and  the  River  Ohio,  to  the  Missisipi,  and  down 
that  River  to  New  Orleans;  ^'^  whose  journals  I  have 
seen  and  perused,  and  have  made  a  draught  of  the 
Countrey  from  them,  and  find  them  agree  with  other 
and  later  accounts.  About  that  Time  a  number  of 
People  petitioned  the  Government  of  Virginia  to 
grant  them  a  Settlement  upon  the  River  Missisipi 
itself,  about  the  mouth  of  the  River  Ohio,  which  they 
offered  to  maintain  and  defend,  as  well  as  to  settle,  at 
their  own  charge,  so  well  were  all  those  western  Parts 
of  Virginia  then  known  and  frequented  by  our  Peo- 
ple; but  they  were  refused  this  Request  by  our  Gov- 
ernment itself,  who  have  allwaies  prudently  thought 
it  more  expedient  to  continue  their  Settlements  con- 
tiguous to  one  another,  than  to  suffer  them  to  be  strag- 
gling up  and  down  in  remote  and  uncultivated  Des- 
arts,  as  we  see  the  French  have  done,  in  order  thereby 
to  seem  to  occupy  a  greater  extent  of  Territory, 
whilst  in  effect  they  hardly  occupy  any  at  all.  Yet  we 
are  not  without  many  of  those  Settlements  among  the 

1^*  Probably  Howard  and  Salley,  1742.     Gist,  Christopher.    Journals. 


Expedition  of  Batts  and  Fallam  205 

Indians  likewise,  and  that  in  a  Countrey  which  we 
have  purchased  from  them  three  several  times.  In 
the  year  1749  our  People  made  a  Settlement  among 
the  Twightwee  Indians  at  Pickawillany,  which  is 
reckoned  by  our  Traders  five  hundred  Miles  beyond 
Fort  du  Quesne,  to  which  they  were  invited  by  the 
Natives  themselves,  who  came  down  to  Lancaster  in 
Pennsylvania  for  that  purpose,  and  made  a  Treaty  to 
that  eftect  with  our  People  there  Jul.  22d.,  1749.  By 
this  means  we  had  several  Settlements  all  along  the 
River  Ohio,  and  all  over  the  Countrey  between  that 
River  and  Lake  Erie,  and  that  long  before  the  French 
ever  set  a  foot  upon  it,  or  knew  any  thing  about  it,  but 
by  Hearsay.  And  on  the  South  Side  of  the  Ohio,  we 
are  not  only  well  settled  on  Wood  River,  that  is  de- 
scribed in  this  Journal,  but  likewise  on  Holston  River 
that  lies  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  Miles  to 
the  westward  of  the  Place  that  these  People  dis- 
covered on  Wood  River  in  1671  ;  and  again  on  Cum- 
berland River  that  lies  as  much  farther  to  the  west- 
ward of  that;  all  which  Places  and  Settlements  you 
will  see  marked  in  our  Map  abovementioned. 


VI 

The  Journeys  of  Needham  and  Arthur 

A  Memorandum  by  John  Locke 

Letter  of  Abraham  Wood  to  John  Richards,  August  22,  1674 


The  Journeys  of  Needham  and  Arthur 
A  Memorandum  *  hy  John  Locke  "^ 

Virginia  come  was  worth  in  September,  74  150  11. 
tobaco  per  barell  the  barell  contains  5  bushels  and 
the  tobaco  counted  worth  about  15s. 

The  cheapest  time  to  buy  corne  is  Oct.  Nov.  and 
Dec:  which  is  newly  after  harvest  and  he  thinks  new 
corne  then  may  be  worth  100  11.  tobaco  per  barell 
i.e.  los. 

The  Indian  corne  requires  most  labour  in  planting 
and  tillage  as  5  to  i  compard  with  wheat,  and  is  of  a 
courser  tast,  but  nourishes  labourers  better,  and  bring 
a  far  greater  increase  commonly  50  for  one  Dry 
seasons  after  sowing  are  naught  for  the  Indian  corne 
good  for  wheat  wherefor  they  commonly  sowe  both, 
soe  that  when  one  misses  the  other  hits 

They  have  2  sorts  of  wheat,  winter  wheat  which 
they  sowe  in  September  and  summer  wheat  which 
they  sowe  in  March  both  ripe  in  June  or  July. 

The  Indian  corne  they  gather  in  the  beginning  of 
Octob : 


*  Shaftesbury  Papers,  section  9,  bundle  48,   no.  83. 

I"'' This  memorandum  is  printed  in  the  Calendar  of  State  Papers, 
Colonial,  America  and  IVest  Indies,  1669-1674,  no.  1428.  The  original  has 
been  carefully  compared  with  Locke's  handwriting  and  it  is  undoubtedly 
genuine. 


2IO  Trans- Allegheny  Region 


Major  Generall  Wood  liveth  in  the  most  south  west 
part  of  Virginia,  about  60  miles  from  ye  mountains 
upon  Apomatock  river,  which  falls  into  James  river 
and  ye  chanell  of  it  lies  from  James  river  south. 

Mr.  Richards.'"' 
Endorsed :  Virginia,  Husbandry. 

Letter  ^''^  of  Abraham  Wood  to  John  Richards 
August  22,  1674 

To  my  Honoured  Frend,  Mr.  John  Richards  in  Lon- 
don, present. 
That  I  have  been  att  ye  charge  to  the  value  of  two 
hundered  pounds  starling  in  ye  discovery  to  ye  south 
or  west  sea  Declaro:  and  what  my  indevors  were  in 
two  yeares  you  was  made  sencible  of  by  ye  handes  of 
Thomas  Batt  and  Robert  Fallam  in  part:  att  my  owne 
charge  ye  effects  of  this  present  yeare  T  am  now  to 
give  you  an  account  of  in  as  much  brevitie  as  I  can. 
About  ye  loth  of  Aprill :  1673  :  I  sent  out  two  English 
men  and  eight  Indians,  with  accommidation  for  three 

1*0  John  Richards,  Wood's  friend  and  the  recipient  of  his  letter,  describ- 
ing the  explorations  of  1673/4,  was  appointed  by  the  Lords  Proprietors  of 
Carolina  as  their  "Treasurer,  and  Agent  in  matters  relating  to  their  joint 
carr>ing  on  of  that  Plantation,"  in  room  of  the  late  Peter  Jones,  December 
4,  1674.  Colonial  Papers,  Amer.  and  W.I.,  1669-1674,  no.  1402.  He  is 
several  times  mentioned  in  the  series  just  cited  [nos.  901,  1138,  1139]  as  the 
bearer  of  letters  to  Lord  Arlington  from  Colonel  Codrington  in  Barbadoes, 
first  on  July  27,  1672.  He  was  in  Virginia  on  August  4,  1673  [ibid.,  no. 
1124].  A  letter  of  October  23,  1673  [ihid.,  no.  1153]  shows  him  to  have 
been  a  correspondent  of  John  Locke. 

181  From  Public  Record  Office  of  London,  Shaftesbury  Papers,  section  ix, 
bundle  48,  no.  94.  It  is  endorsed:  "Supposed  to  be  the  Carolina  colonies 
first  journey  to  Mississippi."  Here  printed  for  the  first  time;  from  a  tran- 
script made  in  London  by  Miss  Agnes  C.  Laut  but  collated  for  this  volume 
in  London.  The  critical  discussion  of  this  important  document  will  be 
found  almost  exclusively  in  the  Introduction  rather  than  in  footnotes.  The 
names  of  Indians  mentioned  were  written  as  a  guide  in  the  margin  by 
John  Locke.     These  have  been  omitted. 


Journeys  of  Needham  and  Arthur  211 


moneths,  but  by  misfortune  and  unwillingness  of  ye 
Indians  before  the  mountaines,  that  any  should  dis- 
cover beyond  them  my  people  returned  effecting  little, 
to  be  short,  on  ye  17th  of  May:  1673  I  sent  them  out 
againe,  with  ye  like  number  of  Indians  and  four 
horses,  about  ye  25th  of  June  they  mett  with  ye  Tom- 
ahitans  as  they  were  journying  from  ye  mountains  to 
ye  Occhonechees.  The  Tomahaitans  told  my  men  that 
if  an  English  man  would  stay  with  them  they  would 
some  of  them  com  to  my  plantation  with  a  letter 
which  a  eleven  of  them  did  accordingly,  and  about 
fourty  of  them  promised  to  stay  with  my  men  att 
Occhonechee  untill  ye  eleven  returned  :  ye  effect  of  ye 
letter  was  they  resolved  by  Gods  Blessing  to  goe 
through  with  ye  Tomahitans.  ye  eleven  resolve  to  stay 
at  my  house  three  dayes  to  rest  themselves.  I  hastned 
away  another  English  man  and  a  horse  to  Occhone- 
chee to  give  them  intelligence ;  but  by  the  extremity  of 
raine  they  could  not  bee  expeeditious,  so  that  through 
ye  instigation  of  ye  Occhonechees,  and  through  ye 
doubt  they  had,  as  I  suppose,  of  ye  miscarrge  of  theire 
men  att  my  plantations,  being  soe  possest  by  the  other 
Indians,  ye  Tomihitans  went  away,  and  my  two  men 
with  them,  and  as  since  I  understand  ye  eleven  over 
tooke  them,  before  they  came  to  ye  mountains,  with 
my  letter,  which  rejoyced  ye  two  English  men  and  one 
Appomattecke  Indian  for  noe  more  durst  to  go  a  long 
with  them;  they  jornied  nine  days  from  Occhonechee 
to  Sitteree:  west  and  by  south,  past  nine  rivers  and 
creeks  which  all  end  in  this  side  ye  mountaines  and 
emty  them  selves  into  ye  east  sea.  Sitteree  being  the 
last  towne  of  inhabitance  and  not  any  path  further 
untill  they  came  within  two  days  jorney  of  ye  Toma- 


212  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

hitans;  they  travell  from  thence  up  the  mountaines 
upon  ye  sun  setting  all  ye  way,  and  in  foure  dayes  gett 
to  ye  toppe,  some  times  leading  theire  horses  sometimes 
rideing.  Ye  ridge  upon  ye  topp  is  not  above  two  hun- 
dred paces  over;  ye  decent  better  then  on  this  side, 
in  halfe  a  day  they  came  to  ye  foot,  and  then  levell 
ground  all  ye  way,  many  slashes  upon  ye  heads  of 
small  runns.  The  slashes  are  full  of  very  great  canes 
and  ye  water  runes  to  ye  north  west.  They  pass  five 
rivers  and  about  two  hundred  paces  over  ye  fifth  being 
ye  middle  most  halfe  a  mile  broad  all  sandy  bottoms, 
with  peble  stones,  all  foardable  and  all  empties  them- 
selves north  west,  when  they  travell  upon  ye  plaines, 
from  ye  mountaines  they  goe  downe,  for  several! 
dayes  they  see  straged  hilles  on  theire  right  hand,  as 
they  judge  two  days  journy  from  them,  by  this  time 
they  have  lost  all  theire  horses  but  one;  not  so  much 
byyebadnessof  the  way  ashy  hard  travell.  not  have- 
ing  time  to  feed,  when  they  lost  sight  of  those  hilles 
they  see  a  fogg  or  smoke  like  a  cloud  from  whence 
raine  falls  for  severall  days  on  their  right  hand  as  they 
travell  still  towards  the  sun  setting  great  store  of 
game,  all  along  as  turkes  deere,  ellkes,  beare,  woolfe 
end  other  vermin  very  tame,  at  ye  end  of  fiftteen  dayes 
from  Sitteree  they  arive  at  ye  Tomahitans  river,  being 
ye  6th  river  from  ye  mountains,  this  river  att  ye 
Tomahitans  towne  seemes  to  run  more  westerly  than 
ye  other  five.  This  river  they  past  in  cannoos  ye  town 
being  seated  in  ye  other  side  about  foure  hundred 
paces  broad  above  ye  town,  within  sight,  ye  horse 
they  had  left  waded  only  a  small  channell  swam,  they 
were  very  kindly  entertained  by  them,  even  to  addora- 
tion  in  their  cerrimonies  of  courtesies  and  a  stake  was 


Journeys  of  Needham  and  Arthur  213 


sett  up  in  ye  middle  of  ye  towne  to  fasten  ye  horse  to, 
and  aboundance  of  corne  and  all  manner  of  pulse  with 
fish,  flesh  and  beares  oyle  for  ye  horse  to  feed  upon 
and  a  scaffold  sett  up  before  day  for  my  two  men  and 
Appomattocke  Indian  that  theire  people  might  stand 
and  gaze  at  them  and  not  offend  them  by  theire 
throng.  This  towne  is  seated  on  ye  river  side,  haveing 
ye  clefts  of  ye  river  on  ye  one  side  being  very  high  for 
its  defence,  the  other  three  sides  trees  of  two  foot  over, 
pitched  on  end,  twelve  foot  high,  and  on  ye  topps 
scafolds  placed  with  parrapits  to  defend  the  walls  and 
offend  theire  enemies  which  men  stand  on  to  fight, 
many  nations  of  Indians  inhabitt  downe  this  river, 
which  runes  west  upon  ye  salts  which  they  are  att 
warre  withe  and  to  that  end  keepe  one  hundred  and 
fifty  cannoes  under  ye  command  of  theire  forte,  ye 
leaste  of  them  will  carry  twenty  men,  and  made 
sharpe  at  both  ends  like  a  wherry  for  swiftness,  this 
forte  is  foure  square;  300:  paces  over  and  ye  houses 
sett  in  streets,  many  homes  like  bulls  homes  lye  upon 
theire  dunghills,  store  of  fish  they  have,  one  sort  they 
have  like  unto  stocke  -  fish  cured  after  that  manner. 
Eight  dayes  jorny  down  this  river  lives  a  white  peo- 
ple which  have  long  beardes  and  whiskers  and  weares 
clothing,  and  on  some  of  ye  other  rivers  lives  a  hairey 
people,  not  many  yeares  since  ye  Tomahittans  sent 
twenty  men  laden  with  beavor  to  ye  white  people,  they 
killed  tenn  of  them  and  put  ye  other  tenn  in  irons,  two 
of  which  tenn  escaped  and  one  of  them  came  with 
one  of  my  men  to  my  plantation  as  you  will  under- 
stand after  a  small  time  of  rest  one  of  my  men  returnes 
with  his  horse,  ye  Appomatock  Indian  and  12  Toma- 


214  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

hittans,  eight  men  and  foure  women,  one  of  those  eight 
is  hee  which  hath  been  a  prisoner  with  ye  white  peo- 
ple, my  other  man  remaines  with  them  untill  ye  next 
returne  to  learne  ye  language,  the  loth  of  Septem- 
ber my  man  with  his  horse  and  ye  twelve  Indians 
arived  at  my  house  praise  bee  to  God,  ye  Tomahitans 
have  a  bout  sixty  gunnes,  not  such  locks  as  oures  bee, 
the  steeles  are  long  and  channelld  where  ye  flints 
strike,  ye  prisoner  relates  that  ye  white  people  have  a 
bell  which  is  six  foot  over  which  they  ring  morning 
and  evening  and  att  that  time  a  great  number  of  people 
congregate  togather  and  talkes  he  knowes  not  what, 
they  have  many  blacks  among  them,  oysters  and 
many  other  shell-fish,  many  swine  and  cattle.  Theire 
building  is  brick,  the  Tomahittans  have  a  mongest 
them  many  brass  potts  and  kettles  from  three  gallons 
to  thirty,  they  have  two  muUato  women  all  ye  white 
and  black  people  they  take  they  put  to  death  since 
theire  twenty  men  were  barbarously  handled.  After 
nine  dayes  rest,  my  man  with  ye  horse  he  brought 
home  and  ye  twelve  Tomahittans  began  theire  jorny 
ye  20th  of  September  intending,  God  blessing  him, 
at  ye  spring  of  ye  next  yeare  to  returne  with  his  com- 
ponion  att  which  time  God  spareing  me  life  I  hope  to 
give  you  and  some  other  friends  better  satisfaction, 
all  this  I  presented  to  ye  Grand  Assembly  of  Vir- 
ginia, but  not  soe  much  as  one  word  in  answer  or  any 
encouragement  or  assistance  given. 

The  good  suckses  of  ye  last  jorney  by  my  men  per- 
formed gave  mee  great  hopes  of  a  good  suckses  in  ye 
latter  for  I  never  heard  from  nor  any  thing  after  I 
employed  Mr.  James  Needham  '""  past  from  Aeno  an 

18-  For  what  has  been  found  regarding  Needham,  see  page  79. 


Journeys  of  Needham  and  Arthur  215 


Indian  towne  two  dayes  jorny  beyond  Occhoneeche  in 
safty  but  now  begins  ye  tragicall  scene  of  bad  hap. 
upon  ye  27th  of  January  following  1  received  a  fly- 
ing report  by  some  Indians  that  my  men  were  killd  by 
ye  Tomahitans  pasing  over  theire  river  as  they  were 
returning,  now  dayly  came  variable  reports  of  theire 
miscarige.     All    Indians    spake    darkly    to    hide   ye 
trueth  from  being  discoverd  for  feare    ye  guilt  of  ye 
mourder  would  be  layd  upon  them  selves.     1  sent  an 
other  man  out  to  inquire  what  might  bee  found  out 
of  truth  in  ye  buisness,  but  before  his  return  upon  ye 
25th  of  February  came  one  Henry  Hatcher  an  Eng- 
lish man,  to  my  house  which  had  been  att  Occhone- 
chee  a  tradeing  with  them  Indians,  and  tells  me  that 
my  man  I  last  sent  out  was  stopt  there  by  ye  Occhene- 
chees  from  goeing  any  further  untill  Hattcher  par- 
swaded  them  to  lett  my  man  pas,  which  they  did  ac- 
cordingly, this  Hatcher  further  tould  me  that  Mr. 
James  Needham  was  certainly  killd  att  his  goeing 
out,  but  by  whome  he  knew  not,  but  as  ye  Occhone- 
chees  said  by  the  Tomahittans  that  went  with  him, 
but  said   Hatcher   I   saw  ye   Occhonechees   Indian 
knowne  by  ye  name  of  John,  a  fatt  thick  blufTf  faced 
fellow,  have  Mr.  James  Necdhams  pistolls  and  gunn 
in  his  hande,  as  the  Indian  him  selfe  tould  Hatcher. 
This  Indian  John  by  his  Indian  name  is  calld  Hase- 
coll,  now  you  are  to  note  that  this  Indian  John  was 
one  that  went  with  Mr.  James  Needham  and  my  man 
Gabriell  Arthur  att  ye  first  to  ye  Tomahitans  and  re- 
turned with  Mr.  James  Needham  to  my  house  where 
he  ye  said  John  received  a  reward  to  his  content  and 
a  greed  with  me  to  goe  a  gaine  with  him.  and  indeav- 
our  his  protextion  to  ye  Tomahittans  and  to  return 


2i6  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

with  Mr.  James  Needham  and  my  man  to  my  house 
ye  next  spring  and  to  that  end  receved  halfe  his  pay 
in  hand.  Ye  rest  hee  was  to  receve  at  his  returne. 
My  poore  man  Gabriell  Artheur  all  this  while  ecap- 
tivated  all  this  time  in  a  strange  land,  where  never 
English  man  before  had  set  foote,  in  all  likelihood 
either  slaine,  or  att  least  never  likely  to  returne  to  see 
ye  face  of  an  English  man,  but  by  ye  great  providence 
and  protection  of  God  allmighty  still  survives  which 
just  God  will  not  sufifer  just  and  honest  indevors  to 
fall  quite  to  ye  ground.  Mauger  ye  deivill  and  all 
his  adherents.  Well,  shall  now  give  a  relation,  what 
my  man  hath  discovered  in  all  ye  time  that  Mr.  James 
Needham  left  him  att  ye  Tomahitans  to  ye  i8th  of 
June  74.  which  was  ye  daye  Gabriell  arived  att  my 
house  in  safety  with  a  Spanish  Indian  boy  only,  with 
difficulty  and  hasard  and  how  Mr.  James  Needham 
came  to  his  end  by  ye  hands  of  the  barbarious  roge 
Indian  John  that  had  undertaken  his  protection  and 
safety  and  as  breife  as  I  can  give  a  touch  upon  ye 
heads  of  ye  materaall  matter  my  mans  memory  could 
retain,  for  he  cannot  write  ye  greater  pity,  for  should 
I  insert  all  ye  particulars  it  would  swell  to  too  great  a 
vollume  and  perhaps  seeme  too  tedeous  to  ye  courte- 
ous and  charitable  Reader  soe  I  begg  pardon  for 
ignorant  erors,  and  shall  againe  come  to  Mr.  Need- 
hams,  where  wee  left  him.  from  Aeno  hee  journied 
to  Sarrah,  with  his  companions  ye  Tomahitons  and 
John  ye  Occhoenechee  accompanied  with  more  of  his 
country  men  which  was  to  see  ye  tragady  acted  as  I 
suppose,  it  happened  as  they  past  Sarrah  river  an 
Indian  lett  his  pack  slip  into  ye  water  whether  on  pur- 


Journeys  of  Needham  and  Arthur  217 

pose  or  by  chance  I  canot  judge,  upon  this  some  words 
past  betvvine  Needham  and  ye  Indian.  Ochenechee 
Indian  John  tooke  up  Mr.  Needham  very  sh(jrt  in 
words  and  soe  continued  scoulding  all  day  untill  they 
had  past  ye  Yattken  towne  and  soe  over  Yattken  river, 
not  far  from  ye  river  Mr.  Needham  alighted  it  not 
being  far  from  the  foot  of  ye  mountaines,  and  there 
tooke  up  theire  quarters.  Still  Indian  John  continued 
his  wailing  and  threating  Mr.  Needham  tooke  up  a 
hatchet  which  lay  by  him,  haveing  his  sword  by  him 
threw  ye  hatchet  on  ye  ground  by  Indian  John  and 
said  what  John  are  you  minded  to  kill  me.  Indian 
John  imediately  catched  up  a  gunn,  which  hee  him 
selfe  had  carried  to  kill  meat  for  them  to  eate  and 
shot  Mr.  Needham  neare  ye  burr  of  ye  eare  and  killd 
him  not  withstanding  all  ye  Tomahittans  started  up  to 
rescue  Needham  but  Indian  John  was  to  quick  for 
them,  soe  died  this  heroyick  English  man  whose  fame 
shall  never  die  if  my  penn  were  able  to  eternize  it 
which  had  adventured  where  never  any  English  man 
had  dared  to  atempt  before  and  with  him  died  one 
hundered  forty-foure  pounds  starling  of  my  adventure 
with  him.  I  wish  I  could  have  saved  his  life  with 
ten  times  ye  valine.  Now  his  companions  ye  Toma- 
hittans all  fell  a  weepeing  and  cried  what  shall  wee 
doe  now  you  have  killd  ye  English  man  wee  shall  be 
cutof  by  ye  English.  Indian  John  drew  out  his  knife 
stept  acrosse  ye  corpes  of  Mr.  Needham,  ript  open  his 
body,  drew  out  his  hart,  held  it  up  in  his  hand  and 
turned  and  looked  to  ye  eastward,  toward  ye  English 
plantations  and  said  hee  vallued  not  all  ye  English. 
Ye  Tomahittans  reployed,  how  dare  you  doe  this, 


2i8  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

wee  are  all  afraid  of  ye  English.  Indian  John  re- 
ployed  he  was  paid  for  what  he  had  done  and  had 
receved  his  rewarde  and  then  laid  a  command  upon 
ye  Tomahittans  that  they  should  dispatch  and  kill  ye 
English  man  which  Needham  had  left  att  ye  Toma- 
hittans and  immediately  opened  the  packs  tooke  what 
goods  he  pleased,  soe  much  as  Needham's  horse  could 
carry  and  soe  returned  backe. 

Now  wee  returne  backe  to  my  man  Gabriell  Ar- 
ther.  Ye  Tomahittans  hasten  home  as  fast  as  they 
can  to  tell  ye  newes  ye  King  or  chife  man  not  being 
att  home,  some  of  ye  Tomahittans  which  were  great 
lovers  of  ye  Occheneechees  went  to  put  Indian  Johns 
command  in  speedy  execution  and  tied  Gabriell  Ar- 
ther  to  a  stake  and  laid  heaps  of  combustible  canes 
a  bout  him  to  burne  him,  but  before  ye  fire  was  put 
too  ye  King  came  into  ye  towne  with  a  gunn  upon  his 
shoulder  and  heareing  of  ye  uprore  for  some  was  with 
it  and  some  a  gainst  it.  ye  King  ran  with  great  speed 
to  ye  place,  and  said  who  is  that  that  is  goeing  to  put 
fire  to  ye  English  man.  a  Weesock  borne  started  up 
with  a  fire  brand  in  his  hand  said  that  am  I.  Ye 
King  forthwith  cockt  his  gunn  and  shot  ye  wesock 
dead,  and  ran  to  Gabriell  and  with  his  knife  cutt  ye 
thongs  that  tide  him  and  had  him  goe  to  his  house 
and  said  lett  me  see  who  dares  touch  him  and  all  ve 
wesocks  children  they  take  are  brought  up  with  them 
as  ye  lanesaryes  are  a  mongst  ye  Turkes.  this  king 
came  to  my  house  upon  ye  21th  of  June  as  you  will 
heare  in  ye  following  discouerse. 

Now  after  ye  tumult  was  over  they  make  prepara- 
tion for  to  manage  ye  warr  for  that  is  ye  course  of 


Journeys  of  Need  ham  and  Arthur  219 

theire  liveing  to  forage  robb  and  spoyle  other  nations 
and  the  king  commands  Gabriell  Arther  to  goe  along 
with  a  party  that  went  to  robb  ye  Spanyarrd,  promis- 
ing him  that  in  ye  next  spring  hee  him  selfe  would 
carry  him  home  to  his  master.  Gabriell  must  now 
bee  obedient  to  theire  commands,  in  ye  depioreable 
condition  hee  was  in  was  put  in  armes,  gun,  toma- 
hauke,  and  targett  and  soe  marched  a  way  with  ye 
company,  beeing  about  fifty,  they  travelled  eight 
days  west  and  by  south  as  he  guest  and  came  to  a  town 
of  negroes,  spatious  and  great,  but  all  wooden  build- 
ings Heare  they  could  not  take  any  thing  without 
being  spied.  The  next  day  they  marched  along  by  ye 
side  of  a  great  carte  path,  and  about  five  or  six  miles 
as  he  judgeth  came  within  sight  of  the  Spanish  town, 
walld  about  with  brick  and  all  brick  buildings  within. 
There  he  saw  ye  steeple  where  in  hung  ye  bell  which 
Mr.  Needham  gives  relation  of  and  harde  it  ring  in 
ye  eveing.  heare  they  dirst  not  stay  but  drew  of 
and  ye  next  morning  layd  an  ambush  in  a  convenient 
place  neare  ye  cart  path  before  mentioned  and  there 
lay  allmost  seven  dayes  to  steale  for  theire  sustenance. 
Ye  7th  day  a  Spanniard  in  a  gentille  habitt,  accout- 
ered  with  gunn,  sword  and  pistoU.  one  of  ye  Tom- 
ahittans  espieing  him  att  a  distance  crept  up  to  ye 
path  side  and  shot  him  to  death.  In  his  pockett  were 
two  pices  of  gold  and  a  small  gold  chain,  which  ye 
Tomahittans  gave  to  Gabriell,  but  hee  unfourtunate- 
ly  lost  it  in  his  venturing  as  you  shall  heare  by  ye 
sequell.  Here  they  hasted  to  ye  negro  town  where 
they  had  ye  advantage  to  meett  with  a  lone  negro. 
After  him  runs  one  of  the  Tomahittans  with  a  dart  in 


220  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

his  hand,  made  with  a  pice  of  ye  blaide  of  Needhams 
sworde,  and  threw  it  after  ye  negro,  struck  him 
thrugh  betwine  his  shoulders  soe  hee  fell  downe  dead. 
They  tooke  from  him  some  toys,  which  hung  in  his 
eares,  and  bracelets  about  his  neck  and  soe  returned 
as  expeditiously  as  they  could  to  theire  owne  homes. 

They  rested  but  a  short  time  before  another  party 
was  commanded  out  a  gaine  and  Gabrielle  Arther 
was  comanded  out  a  gaine,  and  this  was  to  Porte 
Royall,  Here  hee  refused  to  goe  saying  those  were 
English  men  and  he  would  not  fight  a  gainst  his  own 
nation,  he  had  rather  be  killd.  The  King  tould  him 
they  intended  noe  hurt  to  ye  English  men,  for  he  had 
promised  Needham  att  his  first  coming  to  him  that 
he  would  never  doe  violence  a  gainst  any  English 
more  but  theire  buisness  was  to  cut  off  a  town  of  In- 
dians which  lived  neare  ye  English,  I  but  said  Gabri- 
ell  what  if  any  English  be  att  that  towne,  a  trading, 
ye  King  sware  by  ye  fire  which  they  adore  as  theire 
god  they  would  not  hurt  them  soe  they  marched  a  way 
over  ye  mountains  and  came  upon  ye  head  of  Portt 
Royall  river  in  six  days.  There  they  made  perriaug- 
ers  of  bark  and  soe  past  down  ye  streame  with  much 
swiftness,  next  coming  to  a  convenient  place  of  land- 
ing they  went  on  shore  and  marched  to  ye  eastward 
of  ye  south,  one  whole  day  and  parte  of  ye  night.  At 
lengeth  they  brought  him  to  ye  sight  of  an  English 
house,  and  Gabriell  with  some  of  the  Indians  crept 
up  to  ye  house  side  and  lisening  what  they  said,  they 
being  talkeing  with  in  ye  house,  Gabriell  hard  one 
say,  pox  take  such  a  master  that  will  not  alow  a  ser- 
vant a  bit  of  meat  to  eate  upon  Christmas  day,  by 


Journeys  of  Needham  and  Arthur  221 

that  meanes  Gabriell  knew  what  time  of  ye  yeare  it 
was,  soe  they  drew  of  secretly  and  hasten  to  ye  Indian 
town,  which  was  not  above  six  miles  thence,  about 
breake  of  day  stole  upon  ye  towne.  Ye  first  house 
Gabriell  came  too  there  was  an  English  man.  Hee 
hard  him  say  Lord  have  mercy  upon  mee.  Gabriell 
said  to  him  runn  for  thy  life.  Said  hee  which  way 
shall  I  run.  Gabriell  reployed,  which  way  thou  wilt 
they  will  not  meddle  with  thee.  Soe  hee  rann  and 
ye  Tomahittans  opend  and  let  him  pas  cleare  there 
they  got  ye  English  mans  snapsack  with  beades, 
knives  and  other  petty  truck  in  it.  They  made  a  very 
great  slaughter  upon  the  Indians  and  a  bout  sun  rise- 
ing  they  hard  many  great  guns  fired  ofif  amongst  the 
English.  Then  they  hastened  a  way  with  what  speed 
they  could  and  in  less  then  fourteene  dayes  arived  att 
ye  Tomahittns  with  theire  plunder. 

Now  ye  king  must  goe  to  give  ye  monetons  a  visit 
which  were  his  f  rends,  mony  signifing  water  and  ton 
great  in  theire  language  Gabriell  must  goe  along 
with  him  They  gett  forth  w^ith  sixty  men  and  trav- 
elled tenn  days  due  north  and  then  arived  at  ye  mony- 
ton  towne  sittuated  upon  a  very  great  river  att  which 
place  ye  tide  ebbs  and  flowes.  Gabriell  swom  in  ye 
river  severall  times,  being  fresh  water,  this  is  a 
great  towne  and  a  great  number  of  Indians  belong 
unto  it,  and  in  ye  same  river  Mr.  Batt  and  Fallam 
were  upon  the  head  of  it  as  you  read  in  one  of  my  first 
jornalls.  This  river  runes  north  west  and  out  of  ye 
westerly  side  of  it  goeth  another  very  great  river  about 
a  days  journey  lower  where  the  inhabitance  are  an 
inumarable  company  of  Indians,  as  the    monytons 


222  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

told  my  man  which  is  twenty  dayes  journey  from  one 
end  to  ye  other  of  ye  inhabitance,  and  all  these  are  at 
warr  with  the  Tomahitans.  when  they  had  taken 
theire  leave  of  ye  monytons  they  marched  three  days 
out  of  thire  way  to  give  a  clap  to  some  of  that  great 
nation,  where  they  fell  on  with  great  courage  and 
were  as  curagiously  repuUsed  by  theire  enimise. 

And  heare  Gabriell  received  shott  with  two  ar- 
rows, one  of  them  in  his  thigh,  which  stopt  his  runing 
and  soe  was  taken  prisoner,  for  Indian  vallour  con- 
sists most  in  theire  heeles  for  he  that  can  run  best  is 
accounted  ye  best  man.  These  Indians  thought  this 
Gabrill  to  be  noe  Tomahittan  by  ye  length  of  his 
haire,  for  ye  Tomahittans  keepe  theire  haire  close  cut 
to  ye  end  an  enime  may  not  take  an  advantage  to  lay 
hold  of  them  by  it.  They  tooke  Gabriell  and  scow- 
ered  his  skin  with  water  and  ashes,  and  when  they 
perceived  his  skin  to  be  white  they  made  very  much 
of  him  and  admire  att  his  knife  gunn  and  hatchett 
they  tooke  with  him.  They  gave  those  thing  to  him 
a  gaine.  He  made  signes  to  them  the  gun  was  ye 
Tomahittons  which  he  had  a  disire  to  take  with  him, 
but  ye  knife  and  hatchet  he  gave  to  ye  king,  they 
not  knowing  ye  use  of  gunns,  the  king  receved  it  with 
great  shewes  of  thankfullness  for  they  had  not  any 
manner  of  iron  instrument  that  hee  saw  amongst  them 
whilst  he  was  there  they  brought  in  a  fatt  beavor 
which  they  had  newly  killd  and  went  to  swrynge 
[j/c]  it.  Gabriell  made  signes  to  them  that  those 
skins  were  good  a  mongst  the  white  people  toward  the 
sun  riseing  they  would  know  by  signes  how  many 
such  skins  they  would  take  for  such  a  knife.     He  told 


Journeys  of  Needham  and  Arthur  223 

them  foure  and  eight  for  such  a  hattchett  and  made 
signes  that  if  they  would  lett  him  return,  he  would 
bring  many  things  amongst  them,  they  seemed  to 
rejoyce  att  it  and  carried  him  to  a  path  that  carried 
to  ye  Tomahittans  gave  him  Rokahamony  for  his 
journey  and  soe  they  departed,  to  be  short,  when 
he  came  to  ye  Tomahittans  ye  king  had  one  short  voy- 
age more  before  hee  could  bring  in  Gabriell  and  that 
was  downe  ye  river,  they  live  upon  in  perriougers  to 
kill  hoggs,  beares  and  sturgion  which  they  did  incon- 
tinent by  five  dayes  and  nights.  They  went  down  ye 
river  and  came  to  ye  mouth  of  ye  salts  where  they 
could  not  see  land  but  the  water  not  above  three  foot 
deepe  hard  sand.'**^  By  this  meanes  wee  know  this 
is  not  ye  river  ye  Spanyards  live  upon  as  Mr.  Need- 
ham  did  thinke.  Here  they  killd  many  swine,  stur- 
gin  and  beavers  and  barbicued  them,  soe  returned  and 
were  fifteen  dayes  runing  up  a  gainst  ye  streame  but 
noe  mountainous  land  to  bee  scene  but  all  levell. 

After  they  had  made  an  end  of  costing  of  it  about 
ye  loth  day  of  May  1674,  ye  king  with  eighteen  more 
of  his  people  laden  with  goods  begin  theire  journey 
to  come  to  Forte  Henry  att  ye  falls  of  Appomattock 
river  in  Charles  City  County  in  Virginia,  they  were 
not  disturbed  in  all  theire  travels  untill  they  came  to 
Sarah,  w[h]ere  ye  Occhenechees  weare  as  I  tould  you 
before  to  waite  Gabrills  coming.  There  were  but 
foure  Occohenechees  Indians  there  soe  that  they  durst 

183  Arthur  seems  to  be  in  error  somewhere.  Either  the  party  went  to  the 
Chattahoochee  or  Alabama  River  and  descended  it  to  the  Gulf,  or  what  is 
more  likely,  they  simply  paddled  down  the  Tennessee  to  some  broad,  sandy 
shoal,  and  Arthur's  imagination  and  anxiety  to  reach  the  South  Sea  did 
the  rest. 


224  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

not  adventure  to  attempt  any  violent  acction  by  day. 
Heare  they  say  they  saw  the  small  truck  lying  under 
foot  that  Indian  John  had  scattered  and  throw^n  about 
when  he  had  killd  Mr.  Needham.  when  it  grew 
prity  late  in  ye  night  ye  Occhenee  began  to  worke 
thire  plot  and  made  an  alaram  by  an  hubbub  crying 
out  the  towne  was  besett  with  in  numarable  company 
of  strange  Indians  this  puts  the  towne  people  into 
a  sodane  fright  many  being  betweene  sleepeing  and 
wakeing,  away  rune  ye  Tomahittans  and  leave  all  be- 
hind them,  and  a  mongst  ye  rest  was  Gabrills  two 
peices  of  gold  and  chaine  in  an  Indian  bagge  away 
slipe  Gabriell  and  ye  Spanish  Indian  boy  which  he 
brought  with  him  and  hide  themselves  in  ye  bushes. 

After  ye  Tomahittans  were  gon  ye  foure  Occhene- 
chees  for  there  came  no  more  to  disturb  them,  made 
diligent  search  for  Gabriell.  Ye  moone  shining 
bright  Gabriell  saw  them,  but  he  lying  under  covert 
of  ye  bushes  could  not  be  scene  by  that  Indians.  In 
ye  morning  ye  Occhenechees  haveing  mist  of  thire 
acme  passed  home  and  Gabriell  came  into  ye  town 
againe  and  foure  of  ye  Tomahittans  packs  hires  foure 
Sarrah  Indians  to  carry  them  to  Aeno.  Here  he  mett 
with  my  man  I  had  sent  out  soe  long  ago  before  to 
inquire  for  news  despratly  sick  of  ye  flux,  here  hee 
could  not  gett  any  to  goe  forth  with  his  packs  for  feare 
of  ye  Occhenechees,  soe  he  left  them  and  adventured 
himselfe  with  ye  Spanish  Indian  boy.  ye  next  day 
came  before  night  in  sight  of  ye  Occhenechees  towne 
undiscovered  and  there  hid  himselfe  untill  it  was 
darke  and  then  waded  over  into  ye  iland  where  ve 


Journeys  of  Needham  and  Arthur  225 


Occhenechccs  are  seated,  strongly  fortified  by  nature 
and  that  makes  them  soe  insolent  for  they  are  but  a 
handful!  of  people,  besides  what  vagabonds  repaire 
to  them  it  beeing  a  receptackle  for  rogues.     Gabriell 
escapes  cleaurely  through  them  and  soe  wades  out  on 
this  side  and  runs  for  it  all  night.     Theire  food  was 
huckleburyes,  which  ye  woods  were  full  of  att  that 
time  and  on  ye  i8th  June  with  ye  boy  arived  att  my 
house,  praise  be  to  God  for  it.    now  wee  come  again 
to  ye  king  of  ye  Tomahittans.     With  his  t\vo  sonns 
and  one  more  who  tooke  thire  packs  with  them  and 
comes  along  by  Totero  under  ye  foot  of  ye  mountains, 
untill  they  mett  with  James  river  and  there  made  a 
cannoe  of  barke  and  came  downe  the  river  to  the 
Manikins,     from  thence  to  Powetan  by  land,  and 
across  the  neck  and  on  ye  20th  of  July  at  night  arived 
att  my  house  and  gives  certaine  relation  how  Mr. 
James  Needham  came  by  his  death.     This  king  I  re- 
ceived with  much  joy  and  kind  entertainement  and 
much  joy  there  was  betweene  Gabriell  and  ye  king, 
that  once  more  they  were  met  again.     T  gave  the  king 
a  good  reward  for  his  high  favor  in  preserveing  my 
mans  life.     Hee  staid  with  me  a  few  dayes  promising 
to  bee  with  mee  againe  att  ye  fall  of  ye  leafe  w^ith  a 
part\^  that  would  not  be  frited  by  ye  way  and  doubt 
not  but  hee  will  come  if  hee  bee  not  intercepted  by 
selfe  ended  traders  for  they  have  strove  what  they 
could  to  block  up  ye  designe  from  ye  beginning. 
which  were  here  too  tedious  to  relate.     Thus  endes 
ye  tragedv  I  hope  yett  to  live  to  write  cominically  of 
ve  buisness.     If  T  could  have  ve  countenance  of  some 


226  Trans- Allegheny  Region 


person  of  honour  in  England  to  curb  and  bridle  ye 
obstructers  here  for  here  is  no  incouragement  att  all  to 
be  had  for  him  that  is  Sir  Youre  humble  servant 

Ab  Wood. 
From  Forte  Henry,  August  the  22th,  1674. 

Endorsed  in  Locke's  hand:     Carolina  Discoverys 
crosse  the  mountains  by  Major  Generall  Wood  1674 


VII 

Coxe's  Account  of  the  Activities  of  the 
English  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  in  the 
Seventeenth  Century 

A  Memorial  by  Dr.   Daniel  Coxe 


Coxe's  Account    of   the    Activities    of   the 

English  in  the  Mississippi  Valley  in 

the  Seventeenth  Century 

A  Memorial*  by  Dr.  Daniel  Coxe 

Report  relative  to  the  English  discoveries  in  Carolina  and 

Florida,  and  the  settlement   of  English   and  French   claims 

[temp.    George  I]:  the   ivriter    [Ediuard  Billing?],  speaks 

of  himself  as  having  been  Governor  of  Neiv  Jersey  towards 

the  end  of  the  reign  nf  Charles  II  ^^* 

Mr.  Tonty  one  of  the  French  king's  Governours 
in  Canada  owns  in  his  book  printed  at  Paris,  That  in 
the  year  1679  when  he  was  there  the  Irocois  were 
possessed  of  a  Territory  Extending  from  the  Lower 

•British  Museum  Additional  Manuscripts  15903,   f.,  116. 

18*  Printed  from  transcript  made  in  London  ;   hitherto  unpublished. 

The  ascription  of  this  document  to  Edward  Billing  is  certainly  incorrect; 
Billing  died  in  Jan.,  1687,  and  the  author  continually  refers  to  events  that 
happened  many  years  later.  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and  Biog- 
raphy, vol.  vii,  317-326. 

It  was  written  by  Dr.  Daniel  Coxe,  of  London.  Coxe  was  bom  in  1640 
and  died  in  his  ninetieth  year.  He  never  visited  America,  deeply  inter- 
ested as  he  was  in  its  affairs.  He  was  an  M.D.  of  Cambridge,  a  scientist, 
and  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Society.  In  the  course  of  his  life-long  pursuit 
of  plans  for  colonization  in  America  he  accumulated  a  great  store  of  docu- 
mentary information  regarding  the  early  historj'  and  exploration  of  the 
continent,  and  in  preserving  some  of  it  rendered  a  distinct  service  to  con- 
tcmporarj'  geography,  and  to  American  history.  Regarding  the  question  of 
his  personal  truthfulness  and  the  explanation  of  the  "travelers  tales"  that 
are  sometimes  found  in  his  writings,  we  cannot  do  better  than  quote  the 
acute  and  judicious  Governor  Nicholson  of  Virginia,  who  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  Coxe  and  his  various  writings.  Nicholson  writes,  Aug.  27, 
1700,  "I  believe  he  is  an  honest  gentleman  and  a  very  good  doctor     .     .     . 


232  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

End  of  the  Island  Montreall,  where  the  two  great 
Rivers  meet  which  forme  the  River  St.  Laurance  of 
two  hundred  Leagues  Extent,  which  is  to  the  west  end 

but  I  am  afraid  several  people  have  abused  the  Doctor's  good  nature  and 
generosity  by  telling  him  of  strange  countries  and  giving  him  maps  there- 
of."-Crt/f/z./rfr  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  IV est  Indies,  1700, 

no.  739,  p.  497- 

Coxe  %vas  interested  in  both  the  Jerseys,  and  after  the  death  of  Edward 
Billing  in  1687  purchased  from  the  family  their  lands  in  West  Jersey,  to- 
gether with  the  right  of  government  in  the  province,  under  the  grant  of 
the  Duke  of  York  to  Billing.  Coxe  sold  this  latter,  and  most  of  the  lands, 
in  March,  1692,  to  Lane  and  others. 

In  his  "Account  of  New  Jersey"  [printed  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine 
of  History  and  Biography,  vol.  vii,  327-335]  Coxe  writes:  "I  have  made 
greate  discoveryes  towards  the  greate  Lake  whence  come  above  100,000 
Bevers  ever\'  year  to  the  French  Canada  and  English  at  New  Yorke,  Jersey, 
Pensilvania.  I  have  contracted  Freinshipp  with  diverse  petty  Kings  in 
the  way  to  and  upon  the  sd  greate  Lake  and  doubt  not  to  bring  the  greatest 
part  of  the  sd  Traffick  for  Furs  into  that  part  of  the  Country  where  I  am 
setled  and  by  my  patent  I  am  intituled  to  the  said  Trade  Exclusive  of 
others." 

He  further  states  that  one  of  his  tracts  on  the  Delaware  is  admirably 
located  for  Indian  trade,  and  is  only  six  days  easy  journey  from  the  great 
lake.  He  adds  "I  have  been  att  greate  Expence  to  make  friendshipp  with 
the  Indians,  discover  the  passages  to  the  Lakes,  and  open'd  a  way  for  a  vast 
trade  thereunto."  It  should  be  stated  that  this  "Account  of  New  Jersey" 
was  advertising  literature,  written  while  he  was  trying  to  sell  the  province. 
On  April  24,  1690,  Coxe  petitioned  the  Council  for  a  grant  of  land  in 
America  between  36°  30'  and  46°  30'.  The  request  was  referred  to  the 
Lords  of  Trade,  urged  by  him  before  them,  and  refused.  [Calendar  of 
State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  JVest  Indies,  1689-1692,  nos.  843,  1027, 
1177,  2767.] 

At  some  time  prior  to  1698  he  purchased  the  rights  to  the  patent  of 
Carolana  (see  page  238)  which  included  Norfolk  Countv,  Virginia,  and 
the  English  rights  to  the  Mississippi  Valley  west  of  the  Carolinas.  He  at 
once  began  to  bombard  the  government  with  appeals  for  the  confirmation 
of  his  patents  and  for  assistance  in  his  colonizing  schemes.  Despite  the 
opposition  of  the  Virginia  government,  his  title  to  the  Carolana  patent  was 
confirmed  by  the  highest  legal  authority,  the  Lords  of  Trade  listened  rather 
favorably  to  his  plans,  and  some  countenance  was  for  a  time  given  his 
endeavors.  Coxe  himself  says  that  it  was  the  death  of  King  William,  in 
1702,  which  ended  the  government's  favor,  but  before  that  time  political 
reasons,  mainly  the  danger  of  trouble  with  the  Spaniards  and  French,  and 


Coxe's  Activities  of  the  English  233 

of  the  Lake  Erie.  And  elsewhere,  that  they  had  con- 
quered the  Miamihas  and  Illinois,  Chavanoues  three 
great  Nations  as  far  as  the  River  Meschacebe,  And 
that  Northward  they  had  conquered  the  Kicapous, 
Maschoutens,  etc:  for  which  and  divers  other  pas- 

practical  difficulties  had  produced  a  change  in  the  attitude  of  the  Lords  of 
Trade  [Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  West  Indies,  1699, 
nos.  85s,  86i,  867,  953,  957,  966,  97°,  972,  974,  1050,  1051,  1067,  1081,  1082, 
1083].  The  documents  submitted  by  Coxe  record  the  fact  that  he  was 
ordered  by  the  Lords  of  Trade  to  come  before  them  and  prove  certain  of 
tho  allegations  made  in  his  memorial   [no.  967]. 

In  1698  the  Doctor  fitted  out  two  armed  vessels  to  explore  the  regions  to 
which  he  laid  claim.  He  had  already  interested  the  Huguenot  refugees 
in  London  in  his  plan,  and  intended  to  settle  them  on  the  Mississippi.  Sev- 
eral of  the  Huguenot  gentlemen  volunteered  to  accompany  the  expedition, 
Coxe  provided  his  captains  with  a  map  made  from  Spanish  sources,  and 
they  found  and  entered  the  river,  being  the  first  to  do  so  in  seagoing  vessels. 
They  proceeded  up  the  stream  to  the  point  still  known  as  English  Turn,  and 
on  the  way  encountered  Bienville  (Sept.  15,  1699),  were  warned  off  by  him, 
but  took  it  coolly  and  promised  to  come  again.  One  ship  was  wrecked  on 
the  return  voyage,  but  the  other  arrived  in  England  in  Februar\-,  1700. 
The  journals  and  charts  of  its  officers  were  immediately  laid  before  the 
council,  and  the  captain,  Bond  by  name,  called  in  to  verify  them.  Vide 
post,  pp.  113-113;  Calendar  oj  State  Papers,  Colonial,  America  and  IVest 
Indies,  1700,  nos.  124,  127,  132;  Jesuit  Relations,  vol.  Ixv,  172-173,  270, 
footnote;  Charlevoix,  History  of  Neiv  France,  vol.  v,  124;  Sauvole,  Journal, 
vol.  iii,  229-238;  La  Harpe,  29;  Margry,  Decouvertes  et  Etablissement  des 
Franqais,  vol.  iv,  361. 

But  Coxe  had  already  (Jan.  2,  1700)  abandoned  for  the  time  his  plan  of 
settling  on  the  Mississippi,  and  after  considering  Jamaica  as  the  solution  of 
the  difficult>-  and  being  forced  to  give  it  up,  too  [Calendar  of  State  Papers, 
Colonial,  America  and  West  Indies,  1700,  no.  56],  he  pressed  his  claims  to 
Norfolk  County  and  arranged  to  send  the  Huguenots  thither.  A  body  of  sev- 
eral hundred  were  actually  despatched.  They  found  all  the  lands  occupied 
and  the  climate  unhealthy,  and  underwent  some  distress,  from  which  they 
were  relieved  by  the  people  of  the  colony,  and  were  finally  settled  bv  the 
government  at  Manakin  Town  in  the  piedmont  [ibid.,  nos.  2,  143.  14'),  739 
xiii,   18,  26,  28,    132,  681,   934,  1055]. 

Coxe  never  entirely  abandoned  hope  of  reviving  his  project  for  a  colony 
on  the  Mississippi,  and  sent  many  other  communications  to  the  Lords  of 
Trade  regarding  his  Carolana  patent  [ihid.,  1701,  nos.  721,  1042  xii,  1166, 
p.  637].     The  memorial  here  printed  is  one  of  these  communications,   and 


234  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


sages  in  his  Book  which  seemed  to  favour  the  Eng- 
lish pretentions,  The  book  was  called  in  by  the  French 
king,  and  I  could  not  at  Paris  procure  that  book  un- 
der thirty  Livers,  which  was  at  first  sold  for  one  Liv- 
er, which  book  was  translated  into  English  1698  from 
my  french  Copy.*  All  these  Countryes  and  all  the 
Peninsula  between  the  Leaks  of  Ontario  Erie  and 
the  Hurons  a  most  beautifull  and  fruitfull  Country, 
Conquered  before  by  the  Irocois,  and  four  great  Na- 
tions Expelled  were  sold  by  them  unto  the  English 
Government  of  New  York  (which  agreement  or  sale 
is  now  in  the  Plantation  Office)  during  the  Govern- 
ment of  Coll.  Dungan  at  the  beginning  of  King  James 
the  2d's  Reign.  These  Countryes  reach  unto  the 
North  bounds  of  my  Patent  and  Mr.  De-Clerke  in  his 

was  sent  in  some  time  after  1702  [see  Carolana,  41-42].  It  follows  the 
original  memorial  of  1699,  with  some  omissions  and  some  additions.  The 
scheme  which  it  proposes  for  dividing  Carolana  at  the  Mississippi  River 
between  France  and  England  is  again  proposed  in  Carolana,  34. 

Dr.  Daniel  Coxe  was  succeeded  in  his  pretensions  by  his  son,  Colonel 
Daniel  Coxe,  who  composed  the  book  Carolana  (London,  1705)  from  his 
father's  papers.  For  sketch  of  the  son's  life  see  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of 
History  and  Biography,  vol.  vii,  326.  The  title  to  Carolana  remained  in 
the  Coxe  family  until  1769,  when  the  heirs  surrendered  it  to  the  British 
government  in  exchange  for  a  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  in  New  York. 
The  senior  Coxe  is  perhaps  better  remembered  as  the  author  of  one  of  the 
earliest  plans  for  colonial  union  than  as  a  colonizer.  A  good  sketch  of 
the  life  of  Dr.  Coxe  is  found  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History  and 
Biography,  vol.  vii,  317-326.  It  is  by  G.  D.  Scull  of  Oxford,  England, 
and  is  prepared  principally  from  unpublished  manuscripts  in  the  Bodleian 
Library  at  Oxford.  The  author  did  not,  however,  have  the  aid  of  the 
colonial  state  papers,  which  have  been  principally  relied  upon  in  the  prep- 
aration  of   the   present   sketch. 

♦The  reference  is  to  a  volume  entitled  Dernieres  decouvertes  dans 
I'Amerique  septentrionale  de  M.  de  la  Salle.  The  authorship  of  which  was 
ascribed  to  Tonty,  but  denied  by  him.  It  was  published  in  1697  not  1679 
as  stated  in  the  document.  The  English  translation  was  published  at  Lon- 
don   in   1698. 


Coxe's  Activities  of  the  English  235 

Book  of  the  French  discoveryes  printed  at  Paris  by 
order  1691  owns  the  Illinois  were  driven  by  the  Iro- 
coies  1680  out  of  their  Country  and  went  to  settle 
among  the  Ozages,  who  dwell  west  forty  or  fifty 
Miles  beyond  the  River  Meschacebe,  second  part, 
page  205.  And  the  same  Author  Glories  page  135 
that  the  French  by  the  Order  of  Mr.  Denenville 
Seized  upon  the  English  Forts  and  Country  of  Hud- 
son's Bay  in  the  year  1686,  a  time  of  profound  Peace 
in  the  Reign  of  King  James  the  second,  their  great 
Monarchs  best  Ally;  and  there  is  no  Collony  in 
America  whereunto  the  English  can  pretend  a  better 
Title,  having  been  beyond  all  dispute  the  first  dis- 
coverers and  the  first  planters,  and  which  they  had 
long  possessed  without  any  Claim  from  any  foreign 
Nation. 

The  French  indeed  pretend  that  they  took  with 
them  Mr.  [blank  in  Ms.]  and  Radison  when  they 
planted  the  bottom  of  the  Bay  who  understood  the 
Language  and  were  Naturallized  English  and  a  great 
help  unto  them,  for  the  Algonquin  Language  spoke 
by  the  Natives  of  Canada  reaches  to  Hudson's  Bay 
and  all  along  the  North  parts  for  above  four  hundred 
Leagues.  For  which  Claim,  if  these  were  any 
Grounds,  wee  have  a  much  better  to  all  or  most  of  the 
discoveries  made  by  Mr.  de  Salle,  who  having  notice 
that  our  English  had  two  or  three  years  before  made 
a  discovery  from  the  Massachusetts  Collony  with 
twelve  men  up  and  down  the  River  Meschacebe,  and 
the  River  running  from  the  West  thereunto,  as  will 
appear  from  the  Records  thereof  at  Boston,  the  chief 
City  of  New  England,  as  I  have  often  been  told  by 


236  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

the  present  Governour  Collonell  Dudley/^'  Mr.  de 
Salle  debauch'd  divers  of  these  Indians  who  were  in 
that  discovery  and  who  were  his  Guides  and  Inter- 
preters from  the  begining  to  the  End:  They  were 
thirty-one  in  Number  and  with  them  twenty-three 
French  -  as  Mr.  de  Gierke  owns  page  214. 

As  a  further  proof  of  what  wee  may  expect  from 
the  french  at  Canada  if  ever  they  gain  power  wee 
may  observe  what  account  Mr.  de  Tonty  gives  of  two 
Noble  Atchievments  the  begining  of  the  year  1687, 
At  which  time  there  were  so  great  a  friendship  and 
Correspondence  between  King  James  the  second  and 
the  french  king.  Mr.  Denonville  understanding 
that  the  English  after  their  purchase  of  the  foremen- 
tioned  Country  of  the  Irocois  had  made  Leagues  of 
friendship  with,  and  were  Invited  by  the  Nations 
round  the  Leakes  of  Erie  Huron  etc  -  to  Trade 
amongst  them,  found  no  other  Expedient  to  prevent 
our  progress  then  secretly  to  Inform  all  the  French 
under  his  Government  that  they  should  make  warr 
with  the  Irocois  and  all  their  AUyes.  The  English 
knowing  nothing  hereof  sent  two  fleets  of  Canoes  not 
fitted  for  warr  but  only  for  Trading,  and  in  them  the 
greatest  Cargo  was  ever  sent  out  of  the  Colony  of 
New  York,  who  are  very  conveniently  scituated  and 
much  better  then  the  French  for  that  purpose. 

The  English  Navigated  they  thought  very  securely, 
not  Expecting  any  harm  from  the  French,  not  their 
Allyes,  being  altogether  Ignorant  of  the  Warr  the 

185  No  such  records  have  been  found,  though  diligent  search  has  been 
made  for  them.  This  was  probably  a  case  in  which  Dr.  Coxe  was  imposed 
upon.  At  any  rate  it  seems  to  be  the  origin  of  one  of  the  most  persistent 
of  the  unproved  stories  of  English  exploration. 


Coxe's  Activities  of  the  English  237 

French  had  agreed  amongst  themselves  against  them. 
The  French  by  their  Spyes  having  notice  of  their 
Motions  Surprized  one  part  in  the  Lake  of  the  Hu- 
rons,  Consisting  of  five  hundred  English,  Dutch,  and 
their  Confederates,  killing  one  half  and  taking  most 
of  the  rest  Prisoners,  with  their  Canoes,  Arms  and 
Goods.  And  other  Detachments  of  the  French  Sur- 
prized the  other  Body  in  the  Lake  Errie,  who  were 
composed  of  English,  Irocois  and  Ouabaches  (who 
lives  in  a  few  Leagues  of  the  River  Meschacebe)  un- 
der the  Conduct  of  Major  Grigory  or  Mackgreger, 
and  after  having  killed  the  greatest  part  of  them,  took 
their  Baggage  and  Merchandize,  with  a  great  Num- 
ber of  Slaves,  amongst  them  twenty-five  English  with 
the  Major  from  whom  I  had  the  same  Account,  which 
is  fully  related  by  Monsieur  Tonty  page  133.*  The 
French  own  according  to  Mr.  Lehonton,  they  took  to 
the  value  of  50,000  Crowns  in  goods  besides  what 
were  destroyed.  Many  English  died  in  prison  and 
of  hardship,  and  our  Indians  were  given  up  to  their 
Indian  allies,  a  great  part  of  them  died  under  the 
most  Exquisite  Torments.  And  further  to  manifest 
their  Enmity  to  the  English  I  will  add  an  Account  of 
their  very  hard  Usage  of  one  of  their  own  Country 
men,  Related  by  the  Barron  le  Houton,  a  fair  Im- 
partiall  writer  (who  was  then  present)  in  his  thir- 
teenth chapter  of  his  first  Book  of  Viages. 

The  next  day  (after  one  of  the  forementioned  Sur- 
prizes) a  young  Canad[i]a[n],  called  Fontain  Mar- 
ion was  shot  to  death;  his  case  stood  thus;  he  was 
perfectly  well  acquainted  with  the  Savages  of  Cana- 

•  For  other  accounts  of  this  episode  consult  Neiu  York  Coloninl  Docu- 
ments, vol.  iii,   395,  436;  consult   index. 


238  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

da,  and  after  the  doing  of  several  good  services  unto 
the  King  desired  leave  from  the  Governour  Generall 
to  continue  his  Travells  in  Order  to  carry  on  some 
little  Trade,  but  his  request  was  never  granted.  Up- 
on that  he  resolved  to  remove  to  New  England,  the 
two  Crowns  being  then  at  peace,  where  he  had  a  wel- 
come reception,  for  he  was  an  active  fellow  and  one 
who  understood  almost  all  the  Languages  of  the  Sav- 
ages, Upon  which  Consideration,  he  was  Employed 
to  Conduct  the  English  Treaders  before  mentioned, 
and  had  the  misfortune  to  be  taken  with  them.  Now 
to  my  mind  says  the  Barron  Le  Hunton,  the  Usage 
he  met  with  from  Us  was  very  hard,  for  wee  were  at 
Peace  with  England,  and  besides  that  Crown  layes 
claim  to  the  Property  of  the  Lakes  of  Canada,  and 
Circumjacent  Parts. 

In  obedience  unto  your  Lordships  Commands  I 
thought  it  expedient  to  add  unto  the  Memoriall  pre- 
sented unto  King  Wm.'*°  and  wherewith  he  was  so 
well  satisfied  that  he  was  pleased  to  order  a  Council 
which  was  very  numerous,  wherein  it  was  Read,  De- 
bated, and  Accepted  unanimously  with  great  Ap- 
plause, and  his  Majestic  often  declared  he  was  so 
sencible  of  the  English  Nations  Interest  in  this  Af- 
faire both  for  promoting  their  Trade  and  securing 
them  from  the  Inconveniencyes  that  might  accrue 
unto  the  English  Plantations  upon  the  Continent,  es- 
pecially New  York,  Jersey,  Pensilvania,  Virginia, 
Maryland  and  Carolina,  that  he  was  pleased  to  Order 
me  frequently  to  consult  my  Lord  Summers,  then 
Lord    Chancellor,   the    Earle    of    Pembrook,    Lord 

1*8  This  is  that  abstracted  in  Calendar  of  State  Papers,  Colonial,  Amer- 
ica and  IV est  Indies,  1699,  no.  967,  and  in  Carolana. 


Coxe's  Activities  of  the  English  239 

High  Admirall,  Lord  Lansdown,  then  Lord  Privy 
Seal,  and  others  who  all  gave  me  the  greatest  Encour- 
agements to  proceed  as  did  his  Majestie  frequently 
with  assurance  of  his  Aid  and  Assistance  both  of 
Ships  Men  and  Money.  It  pleased  God  to  take  him 
to  himselfe,  and  notwithstanding  my  frequent  Appli- 
cations afterwards,  I  had  many  promises,  tho'  never 
found  any  good  effects  thereof.  Other  Affairs  which 
seem'd  unto  them  of  greater  moment  wholy  taking 
up  their  thoughts.  Whereupon  I  have  ever  since  de- 
sisted from  prosecuting  further  an  Affaire  which 
could  never  succeed  without  Aid  and  Countenance 
from  the  Publick.  But  since  the  Lords  Justices  and 
your  Lordships  have  thought  fitt  to  revive  the  con- 
sideration of  this  Undertaking  and  your  Lordships 
have  required  me  to  acquaint  you  with  whatsoever  of 
moment  have  come  to  my  knowledge  relating  unto 
you  our  just  due  and  right  unto  the  Province  of  Caro- 
lina or  Florida  all  which  I  shall  sincerely  and  Im- 
partially without  reserve  or  disguise  communicate 
unto  your  Lordships. 

King  Charles  the  first  by  his  Letter  Patents  did 
grant  to  Sir  Robert  Heath  knight  his  Attorney  Gen- 
erall,  and  to  his  heires  and  assigns  for  ever,  all  the 
Province  of  Carolina  together  with  divers  powers, 
Priveledges  and  Advantages  in  the  said  Letters  Pat- 
ents mentioned. 

Sir  Robert  after  Conveyed  his  Interest  unto  the 
Lord  Matrevers,  Son  and  heire  to  the  Lord  Arun- 
dale,  who  had  a  wonderful  Inclination  and  great  Sa- 
gacity in  Promoting  the  Plantation  of  Northern 
American  and  some  of  the  Islands  thereunto  Adja- 
cent.    After  ye  Patent  of  Carolina  was  Consigned 


240  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

unto  him,  he  immediately  began  to  plant  the  North- 
ermost  part  of  it  Bordering  upon  Virginia.  And  that 
there  might  be  a  perfect  good  correspondence  be- 
tween him  and  that  Colony  by  the  Neighbourhood  of 
his  Colony,  Sir  John  Harvy,  Governour  and  the 
Council  of  Virginia,  did  grant  by  King  Charles  the 
first  his  Order  signifyed  by  his  Letters  Patents  Bear- 
ing date  the  Eleventh  day  of  Aprill  in  the  thirteenth 
year  of  his  Reign,  a  Tract  of  Land  to  be  called  the 
County  of  Norfolk,  as  will  at  large  appear  by  the 
Copy  of  the  deed  faithfully  transcrib'd  from  the 
Originall,  which  I  have  in  my  possession,  it  being 
conveyed  unto  me  with  the  Province  of  Coralina 
[sic']. 

The  Lord  Matrevers  was  at  great  expence  and 
trouble  to  plant  that  little  Province.  He  designM 
from  thence  to  propogate  his  plantations  to  the  south 
having  many  Plantations  Tenants  Magazins  etc.  for 
his  views  were  chiefly  Carolina.  Thereupon  he  com- 
missioned divers  Persons  some  to  Plant  the  North 
part  of  his  Province  of  Carolina,  as  Hartwell  and 
others,  the  South  part  as  Captain  Henery  Hawley  and 
his  friends,  what  I  could  recover  of  these  Transac- 
tions I  lay  before  your  Lordships;  but  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk's  Steward  often  assur'd  me  that  a  vast  num- 
ber of  writings  and  maps  relating  to  this  Country 
were  burnt  by  a  fire  hapned  in  the  Duke  of  Norfolk's 
house  the  latter  end  of  king  Charles  the  Reign  \^sic~\. 

The  Lord  Matrevers  upon  his  Fathers  Death  be- 
ing Earle  of  Arundell  and  Surry  Earle  Marshall  of 
England,  made  considerable  Employments  or  Pat- 
ents for  them,  when  the  Warr  with  the  Scotts  in  1639 


Coxe's  Activities  of  the  English  241 

where  he  was  Generall  for  King  Charles  broke  out 
and  out  of  zeale  for  his  Prince  carried  them  along 
with  him,  that  and  the  following  year,  which  at  that 
time  hindred  the  peopeling  of  that  Province.  And 
he  being  afterwards  discontented,  of  which  the  Earle 
of  Clarendon  in  his  history  gives  a  full  Account,  with- 
drew himself,  travelled  and  dyed,  as  I  remember  at 
Padua  in  Italy  1646.  His  eldest  Son  proving  a  Lun- 
atick  and  continuing  so  to  his  death,  was  Succeed  by 
his  Brother  Henry,  then  a  Roman  Catholick,  and  in 
great  trouble  about  the  time  of  the  Popish  Plott,  and 
being  otherwise  diverted  first  neglected  then  dis- 
posed of  it  unto  Sir  James  Shaen  who  had  form'd  a 
noble  design  and  Engaged  great  Numbers  in  it,  but  a 
strange  misfortune  frustreated  all. 

It  descending  unto  his  son.  Sir  Arthur,  of  whom 
the  present  Proprietors  purchased  it,'^'  from  this 
Crayon  it  is  obvious  unto  all  Understanding  Con- 
sidering persons  unto  what  great  troubles  and  dangers 
most  of  our  Colonyes  on  the  Continent  must  be  Ex- 
posed. If  powerfull  Ambitious,  Coveteous  or  un- 
kind Neighbours  should  possess  the  Country  on  the 
East  side  of  the  River  Meschacebe  into  which  run 
many  great  Rivers  of  long  course  which  proceed  from 
the  Back  of  our  Plantations  of  Pensilvania,  Mary- 
land, Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina,  they  be- 
ing of  very  easie  access,  the  Rivers  having  no  Falls 
or  Cataracts,  but  an  interrupted  course  unto  their 
heads,  so  that  upon  very  f  rivolus  Pretences  they  may 
in  process  of  time  be  as  troublesome  to  them  all  as  they 

^^'^  What  precedes  is  the  authoritative  account  of  the  oriein  and  trans- 
mission of  the  title  to  Carolana,  approved  by  the  attorney-general  and  other 
high  legal   authorities. 


242  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

were  formerly  to  the  Colonyes  of  New  England,  New 
York  and  Hudsons  Bay. 

Before  I  render  an  Account  of  my  own  Discoverys, 
It  will  not  be  amiss  to  mention  that  a  Company  was 
form'd  in  the  protectorate  of  Cromwell  by  divers  gen- 
tlemen and  merchants  upon  ye  Rupture  with  Spain 
whose  subscriptions  and  agreements  about  the  setting 
of  the  Country  I  here  present  your  Lordships  which 
I  received  from  Sir  Wm.  Waller  the  younger,  whose 
father,  one  of  the  chief  Generalls  for  the  Parliament 
during  the  late  unhappy  Civill  Warrs,  was  the  chief 
Contriver  and  promoter  of  this  Undertaking.  They 
sent  divers  Ships  well  man'd  and  victualled,  who  dis- 
covered all  the  Coast  of  Florida  from  ye  Bay  of  Apa- 
lachy  on  the  west  side  of  the  Peninsula  of  Florida  for 
above  two  hundred  miles  and  within  twenty  Leagues 
of  the  River  Meschcebe,  gave  names  to  about  a  hun- 
dred Rivers,  Harbours,  some  from  the  names  of  the 
Captain's  Ships,  and  others,  to  Chief  Adventures  in 
the  Expedition,  others  from  the  names  of  some  com- 
odities  they  met  with,  as  Pearl  River,  Logwood  Riv- 
er, Fustick  River,  or  from  the  names  of  some  resem- 
blance they  did  bear  to  Rivers,  Harbours,  etc.  in 
England.  They  planted  and  setled  in  two  or  three 
places  where  they  resided  some  years,  and  sent  such 
discription  of  the  Country  and  Samples  of  divers 
Comodities,  as  dying  woods,  and  Roots,  Cotton,  Indi- 
co,  Cochinil,  Pearl,  etc.,  which  last  are  not  only  in 
many  places  upon  the  Sea  Coast  but  plentifull  in  div- 
ers freshwater  Rivers  and  so  large  and  Orient  that 
Mr.  Persivall  who  was  divers  years  Governour  of 
Carolina  for  the  Earl  of  Shaftsbury  and  ye  other  Pro- 


Coxe's  Activities  of  the  English  243 

prietors,  divers  Traders  brought  out  of  this  Country 
Pearls  which  he  shevv'd  me,  at  the  Earle  of  Shafts- 
burys  which  were  valued  some  at  Twenty,  Thirty  or 
Forty  and  one  at  a  hundred  pounds. 

The  Company  beforementioned  being  well  satisfy- 
ed  herewith  provided  several  Ships  well  victualled 
and  furnished  all  manner  of  amunition  whatsoever 
was  needfull  for  Plantations,  and  above  two  Thou- 
sand men,  Soldiers  and  Planters  besides  women.  But 
the  Protector  dying,  the  Confusions  succeeding  dis- 
couraged them  and  put  a  Period  to  their  Noble  de- 
sign. And  those  who  resided  in  the  Country  not  being 
supported  withdrew  and  went  to  English  Plantations 
at  Jamaica,  Barbadoes,  and  other  Islands.  And  one 
of  them  Captain  Watts  was  after  the  Restoration 
knighted  by  King  Charles  ye  second  and  made  Gov- 
ernour  of  Island  of  St.  Christopher. 

I  had  a  large  and  exact  map  of  this  Country  so  f  arr 
as  they  had  discovered,  being  about  Two  hundred 
miles  upon  the  Coast  and  about  as  farr  into  the  Coun- 
try which  I  unhappily  lent  about  twenty  years  since 
and  could  never  recover  it.  But  I  had  before  shewn 
it  for  divers  years  to  above  a  hundred  persons  of  good 
Judgment,  most  of  whom  upon  that  and  many  other 
Inducements  had  proffer'd  to  Joyn  with  me  in  Set- 
ling  that  Country. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  give  an  Account  of  my  own 
Discoveries  with  the  first  occation  and  progress  of 
them.  About  Thirty-eight  years  ago  attending  on 
the  present  Duke  of  Somerset  at  Petworth  in  Sussex 
where  I  continued  many  dayes,  among  many  remark- 
able Books  contained  in  a  Noble  Library  Collected 


244  Trans- Allegheny  Region 

by  divers  Earles  of  Northumberland  I  met  with  the 
Expedition  of  Ferdinando  Soto  throughout  most 
parts  of  Florida  written  in  Spanish  by  the  Celebrat- 
ed Garzilazia  Delatega  author  of  the  History  of 
Peru  translated  into  English  by  Sir  Paul  Ricaut,  and 
soon  after  my  return  a  book  in  Quarto  publish'd  by 
ye  Famous  Mr.  Hacluite  being  a  translation  of  the 
same  Expedition  out  of  Portuguese  written  by  a  Gen- 
tleman of  Elvas,  who  with  divers  other  Gentlemen 
Portuguese  accompanyed  the  Spaniards  from  ye  be- 
ginning to  the  End,  written  with  great  Judgment  and 
Fidelity.  Out  of  which  with  great  Labour  and  pains 
I  fram'd  a  Mapp  which  to  be  true  and  Accurate  al- 
most all  of  it  was  confirm'd  by  latter  discoveries  and 
by  means  hereof  my  Ships  found  the  Mouth  of  the 
River  within  less  than  twenty  leagues  as  I  had  laid  it 
in  my  Chart  '^^  and  which  the  French  in  their  Mapps 
before  and  divers  years  since  place  on  hundred 
leagues  more  to  the  West,  and  it  is  well  known  the 
French  king  sent  two  Fleets,  one  by  Mr.  Salle,  and 
another,  neither  of  which  could  find  the  Mouth  of 
the  River.  Apprehending  I  might  be  serviceable  to 
my  Prince  and  Country  if  could  make  further  dis- 
coveries of  this  River  and  others  entring  thereinto 
from  our  Provinces,  I  being  Proprietary  and  Gov- 
ernour  of  New  Jersey,  and  kept  a  Correspondence 
with  the  Governours  and  Chief  Traders  into  the  Con- 
tinent of  all  the  Neighbour  Colonys  from  New  Eng- 
land to  South  Carolina,  learned  from  Coll.  Dudley 
afterwards  Thirteen  years  Governour  of  New  Eng- 
land who  being  here  president  for  the  representing 

188  Xhis  is  quite  true,  for  the  French  officers  saw  the  map.     See  footnote 
184. 


Coxe's  Activities  of  the  English  245 


the  state  of  that  Country  unto  King  Charles  the  Sec- 
ond and  his  Council  assured  me  among  many  other 
remarkable  things  that  ten  or  twelve  went  a  Trading 
from  the  back  or  West  side  of  New  York  five  or  six 
years  before  found  a  great  River  which  appears  to  be 
the  famous  River  Hohio  thence  entred  the  Mescha- 
cebe  and  ascending  thence  another  great  River,  which 
runs  from  the  North  West  which  since  appears  to  be 
the  Yellow  River  as  farr  as  the  Spanish  Plantations, 
and  brought  home  with  them  the  leg  of  an  horse  of 
whom  did  see  many  feeding  in  the  Meadows,  which 
relation  was  taken  by  the  Chief  Magistrates  at  Boston 
and  entres  into  their  Register  where  it  yet  remains.* 

Upon  this  I  Encouraged  severall  to  attempt  furth- 
er Discoveryes  whereupon  three  of  my  Tennants  in  a 
Burchen  Canoe  went  up  Schnil  Kill  (a  River  comes 
into  Delaware  at  Philadelphia)  above  one  hundred 
miles,  then  by  a  branch  into  a  Branch  of  the  great 
Tasquehana  River  thence  into  the  South  branch  of 
the  same  river  to  its  head,  and  Carrying  their  Canoe 
over  some  small  hills  entred  the  great  river  Hohio 
which  after  a  course  of  six  hundred  miles  Joynes  the 
Meschacebe,  and  going  up  that  River  went  up  ye 
great  Yellow  River  three  dayes  Voyage,  which  River 
comes  from  the  hills  which  seperate  New  Mexico 
from  Carolina. 

They  went  and  returned  through  above  forty  Na- 
tions of  Indians  who  all  treated  them  very  kindly  and 
gave  them  many  furrs  for  Indian  trade  they  carried 
with  them.  I  had  from  them  a  large  Journall  writ- 
ten and  a  larg  Mapp  very  exact  abating  the  want  of 

*  An  examination  of  the  registers  has  been  made  and  no  such  entry 
found. 


246  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

the  lattitudes  which  they  had  not  Skill  nor  Judgment 
to  take,  which  chart  and  Journal  about  Twenty  six 
yeares  ago  I  lent  Mr.  Penn,  but  could  never  recover 
them,  tho'  I  was  informed  he  kept  them  for  the  In- 
struction of  the  People  of  his  own  Colony,  who  were 
chiefly  Imploy'd  in  the  Indian  Trade.'^® 

Afterwards  I  gained  further  knowledge  from  very 
intelligent  persons.  Major  Gregory  who  us'd  the  New 
York  Trade,  and  were  some  thousand  miles  with  the 
Indians  Divers  ways,  as  also  with  the  Chief  Traders 
in  Virginia,  Collon.  Bird,  Mr.  Needh:  and  others  in 
North  and  South  Carolina,  especially  Mr.  Percivall 
and  Mr.  Woodward,  the  latter  with  divers  others 
having  passed  the  hills  that  seperate  Carolina  from 
Carolana  as  farr  as  the  River  Meschacebe  divers 
ways  and  as  I  have  been  inform'd  some  English  setled 
among  the  Chicazas  a  larg  and  valiant  Nation  whose 
bounds  extend  to  the  Great  River,  as  also  among  the 
great  Nation  of  the  Cheraquees,  whereof  if  I  had 
time,  I  believe  I  could  soon  gain  more  perfect  and 
certain  information. 

Being  fully  satisfyed  about  the  inland  Country  I 
thought  it  advisable  to  make  a  discovery  of  all  ye  sea 
Coast,  harbours,  and  Rivers  entring  out  of  Carolana 
into  the  North  side  of  the  Gulph  of  Mexico;  where- 
upon in  the  year  1698  I  fitted  out  two  small  Gallyes 
well  Mann'd  and  victualled  for  a  yeare  and  a  halfe 
which  carried  between  them  twenty  Cannon  and  six- 
teen Pedrarios  besides  plenty  of  other  Arms  for  of- 
fence and  Defence,  and  Store  of  Amunition.  They 
went  first  to  Charles  Town  in  Carolina  to  take  in  some 

''^^  This  appears  quite  clearly  a  case  where  Coxe  was  imposed  upon  both 
with  story  and  map. 


Coxe's  Activities  of  the  English  247 


further  Provisions  of  Rice,  Salt,  Beef,  Pork  etc.  and 
settle  a  good  understanding  between  me  and  that 
Colony,  1  having  been  Intimately  acquainted  with  the 
Governour  and  Chief  persons  of  that  Province,  which 
was  efifected  to  our  Mutuall  Satisfaction.  There  went 
in  these  Ships  about  Thirty  English  and  French  vol- 
unteers with  a  design  to  remain  in  some  convenient 
place  of  the  Province  of  Carolana,  and  if  possible 
upon  the  Great  River  or  some  other  entring  thereinto, 
most  men  of  good  Scence,  great  Courage,  and  some  of 
Quality,  as  the  Marquis  de  la  Muce  '""  a  French  Ref- 
ugee who  left  above  four  thousand  pounds  sterling  a 
year  that  he  might  enjoy  the  free  Exercise  of  the 
Protestant  Religion,  who  was  greatly  favoured  by  the 
King,  and  had  a  Pention  of  six  hunred  pounds  per 
annum  and  a  considerable  Office  near  the  Queen.  The 
Baron  de  Sailly  sent  his  two  sons;  the  rest  both  Eng- 
lish and  French  were  all  Gentlemen. 

I  give  no  Account  of  the  Voyage  having  herewith 
Tendred  two  of  the  Journalls  written  by  very  honest 
experienced  Seamen,  one  the  Capt.,  the  other  his 
mate,  chosen  by  him  who  was  soon  after  a  Capt.  The 
other  Capts.  Journall  who  commanded  the  larger 
Ships  is  wanting,  he  being  cast  away  in  his  return  up- 
on or  near  the  Islands  of  Scylly,  he  and  all  his  men 
with  the  Cargo  being  lost.  By  which  two  Journalls 
it  appears  that  they  carefully  and  diligently  searched 
all  the  coast  of  Carolana  Florida  to  the  w^estvvard 
Fourteen  degrees  Longitude.  And  that  in  all  the 
said  space  they  found  neither  French  Settlements  or 
any  sign  that  any  French  had  been  settled  in  any  part 

190  This  gentleman  was  one  of  the  two  leaders  of  the   large  band  of 
Huguenots  whom  Coxe  sent  to  settle  in  Virginia  the  next  year. 


248  Trans-Allegheny  Region 

or  place  upon  the  said  coasts  in  all  the  said  Tracts. 
And  that  having  been  one  hundred  Miles  up  the  great 
River  Meschacebe  they  found  not  any  sign  of  a 
French  Settlement  in  the  said  River  or  any  of  its  three 
great  Branches  whereby  it  emptieth  itself  into  the 
Bay  or  Gulph  of  Mexico.  The  Journall  will  give  an 
Account  where  when  and  how  they  took  possession 
for  the  King  of  England. '*'' 

I  believe  there  will  be  great  difficulties  in  a  Treaty 
between  us  and  the  French  about  settling  the  Bound- 
aryes  of  our  English  Colonyes  upon  the  Continent  of 
North  America,  and  those  of  the  French,  particular- 
ly the  Provence  of  Carolana,  of  which  they  seem  very 
fond,  having  already  made  some  settlements  and  are 
preparing  to  make  more  and  greater.  But  I  appre- 
hend I  have  found  an  expedient  beyond  all  just  Ex- 
ceptions, which  I  hope  may  prove  satisfactory  unto 
both  Partyes. 

The  River  Meschacebe  by  them  stiled  Missisipy 
runs  through  the  middle  of  this  Province,  and  the 
lands  on  ye  west  side  rather  larger  than  that  on  ye 
east.  And  it  hath  been  very  long  generally  believ'd 
that  the  western  side  abounds  most  with  Mines  of 
Gold  and  Silver,  bordering  upon  those  belonging  to 
Mexico  and  New  Mexico  in  which  are  the  Richest 
Mines  belonging  to  the  Spaniards  in  North  America. 

My  Proposall  '^'  is  that  we  should  abandon  above 
halfe  the  Province  totally  and  finally  to  the  French 

191  \Y^e  have  not  found  this  journal  but  in  a  long  discussion  of  the 
navigability  of  the  Mississippi,  written  by  General  Phineas  Lyman  in 
1766  [Lansdoune  Mss.,  vol.  xlviii,  263  et  seq.'\  long  extracts  of  the  journal 
of  Captain  Bond  (the  captain  above  mentioned),  are  quoted.  According 
to  these  the  English  ships  sailed  about  one  hundred  miles  up  the  river. 

^92  Compare  Carolana,  34. 


Coxe's  Activities  of  the  English  249 

which  is  on  the  West  side  of  the  Great  River,  and 
retain  unto  our  Selves  all  that  on  the  East  Side,  all 
the  Rivers  whereof  proceed  from  our  Colonyes  of 
Carolina,  Virginia,  Maryland,  Pensilvania  and  New 
York.  And  that  all  the  land  on  ye  East  side  of  the 
River  to  the  River  Illinouecks,  by  them  called  the 
River  of  the  Ilinois,  unto  the  head  thereof,  and  five 
or  six  Leagues  further  unto  the  Lake  of  the  Ilinois 
and  then  South  to  the  north  Border  of  Carolina  may 
be  adjudged  to  belong  to  the  English.  It  being  pur- 
chased of  the  Indians  (and  much  more)  in  the  begin- 
ning of  King  James  the  second  his  Reign  by  Gov- 
ernour  Dungan,  after  Earle  of  Limerick,  which  is 
recorded  in  the  Plantation  Office.  And  that  the 
Navigation  of  the  River  of  the  Ilinois  should  be  free 
to  the  English  into  and  from  the  Great  River,  and 
from  thence  down  the  River  into  the  Sea. 

And  because  it  may  be  supposed  that  the  French 
will  not  willingly  abandon  their  Settlements  on  the 
west  side  of  the  River,  That  they  may  be  allowed  to 
keep  them.  They  not  being  prejudiciall  to  the  Eng- 
lish Plantations,  being  two  hundred  miles  remote 
from  any  Great  River  coming  out  of  our  Plantations, 
Conditionally  that  the  French  plant  no  more  upon  the 
East  side  of  the  Great  River  within  the  bounds  above 
mentioned:  All  which  will  be  manifest  unto  your 
Lordships  from  a  Strict  View  of  the  Mapp,  I  had 
the  honour  to  leave  with  your  Lordships. 


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258  Trans-Allegheny  Region 


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Inde: 


INDEX 


AccoNECHY  Indians:  see  Occaneechi 
Indians 

Admiralty:    51 

Aeno:  see  Eno 

Akenatzy  Indians:  see  Occaneech. 
Indians 

Albermarle,  Earl  of:  interest  in 
Carolina,  59  and  footnote;  mem- 
ber of  Hudson's  Bay  Company, 
59;   speculations,   57 

Algonquin  Indians:  prevalence  in 
Canada,  235 

Allouez,  Father  Claude  Jean:  on 
the  Wisconsin,  24,  footnote 

Apachancano:  Indian  chief,  119, 
121;    treachery,    125 

Apamatack  River:  see  Appomattox 
River 

Apomatack  Indians:  see  Appomattoc 
Indians 

Apomatock  River:  see  Appomattox 
River 

Appalachian  [Apailachian,  Apa- 
lachean,  Apalateans]  Mountains: 
description,  138,  141;  passage 
through,  167;  viewed  by  Lederer, 

147 

Appomattoc  [Appamatack,  Appa- 
mattoc,  Appamatuck,  Appoma- 
tock,  Appomattecke,  Appomat- 
tocke]  Indians:  customs,  121,  122; 
used  as  guides,  70,  82,  114,  184, 
211;  village,  32,  196;  visited  by 
Lederer,  68 

Appomattox  [Apamatack,  Appo- 
mattake,  Apomattake]  River:  ex- 
plorations, 28,  196;  land  of  A. 
Wood  on,  37,  210;  military  posts 
on,  27,  29 


Arlington,  Earl  of:  ambassador  at 
Paris,  57;  letter  of  W.  Berkeley 
to,  61,  70,  175;  of  Codrinpton, 
210,  footnote;  of  T.  Ludwell,  177; 
speculations  of,  57 

Arthur  [Arther,  Artheur],  Gabriel: 
at  Port  Royal,  220;  at  Sarah,  223; 
at  Sitteree,  81,  211;  attempted 
murder  of,  86,  218,  224;  captitred 
by  Shawnee,  88,  222;  checked  by 
Indians,  80;  explorations,  79-89, 
210-216;  first  expedition,  210; 
joins  Indian  war  partj-,  86,  219; 
on  Carolina  Blue  Ridge,  81,  212; 
second  expedition,  80,  211;  sets 
out  from  Fort  Henry,  210;  with 
Monetons,  87,  221 ;  with  Occa- 
neechi, 211;  with  Tomahitans,  81, 
82,  83,  2U,  212,  214 

Arundale,  Lord:  interest  in  America, 
239 

Ashley,  Anthony  Lord:  see  Shaftes- 
bury, Earl  of 

Askarin:  mother  of  Indian  race, 
144 

Assembly  of  Virginia:  act  on  explo- 
rations, 28,  loi,  102;  maintenance 
of  posts,  30.  Order  —  on  explora- 
tions, 102,  103,  104;  order  of  Oc- 
tober, 1650,  112;  of  November, 
1652,  102;  of  July,  1653,  103;  of 
i658[?]  103;  of  March,  1659/60, 
104 

Auripigmentum:    used    by    Indians, 

155 

Austin,  Walter:  granted  right  to  ex- 
plore, loi,  102 

Austria  Hungan*-:  fur-trade,  58 

Axes:  trade  in,  169 


262 


Trans-Allegheny  Region 


Bacon,  Nathaniel:  defeats  Indians, 
124 

Bacon's  Rebellion:   hinders  explora- 
tions, 76,   77,   89 

Batt,  Thomas:  see  Batts,  Thomas 

Batts,  Henry:  land  patents,  184,  foot- 
note 

Batts,  John:  father  of  T.  Batts,  184, 
footnote 

Batts,    Robert:     grandfather    of    T. 
Batts,  184,  footnote 

Batts  [Batt,  Batte,  Botts,  Bolton], 
Thomas:  biographical  notice,  184, 
footnote;  at  Peters'  Falls,  192;  at 
Sapona,  185;  at  Totero,  186,  192; 
commission,  184;  education,  90; 
establishes  England's  claim  to 
West,  74,  191;  explorations,  19, 
54  and  footnote,  70,  74,  196,  210, 
221;  itinerars',  195,  199,  200;  on 
New  River,  73,  189;  on  Ohio 
River,  201;  on  Pede  River,  197; 
on  Roanoke  River,  187;  on  Staun- 
ton River,  185,  197;  on  Swift 
Creek,  188 ;  on  Wood  River,  198 ; 
report,  54,  footnote;  return  to  Fort 
Henr>-,  193;  with  Hanathaskies, 
185,  193 
Beads:  trade  in,  170 
Beaver:  prevalence,   148;  trade,   88, 

194,  213,  221,  223 
Berkeley,   Culpeper    (brother   of  Sir 

Wm.):  178 
Berkeley  [Berkely,  Berkly],  Sir  Wil- 
liam: commissions  J.  Lederer,  136; 
governor  of  Virginia,  114;  initials 
cut  in  tree,  191;  interest  in  Caro- 
lina, 59  and  footnote;  interest  in 
fur  trade,  76;  interest  in  silk  in- 
dustn,',  178;  interest  in  western 
explorations,  20,  46,  61,  66,  69,  70, 
74.  77.  179;  letter  to  Arlington, 
61,  70,  175;  to  Lords  of  Trade, 
178;  requests  commission,  176; 
sends  out  explorers,  51,  61,  66, 
69,  175.  177;  speculations,  57; 
weakness,  42 


Berkeley  Island:  named  by  A.  Wood, 

124;  see  Totero 
Beverley,    Robert:    describes    Batts- 
Fallam    expedition,    74,    196;     in- 
accuracy, 75 
Billing,    Edward:   author  of   narra- 
tive on  explorations,  231  and  foot- 
note; death,  232,  footnote 
Bird,  William:  see  Byrd,  JVilliam 
Blackwater  Lake:  explorers  at,  130 
Blackwater  River:  explorations,  49; 

military  posts,  27 
Bland,  Edward:  biographical  notice, 
III,  footnote;  education,  90;  colo- 
nization scheme,  50,  51;  receives 
order  for  colonization,  50;  granted 
right  to  explore,  112;  notes  on 
explorations,  49,  50;  quotes  W. 
Raleigh,  112,  113;  Discovery  of 
Nezv  Brittaine,  109-130;  death,  51. 
Explorations  -  ^i,  80,  114;  at  Not- 
taway  Town,  115;  at  Occoneechi, 
124;  at  Pyanchas  Park,  123;  at 
Totero,  124;  on  Brewsters  River, 
121;  on  Blandina  River,  123;  on 
Farmer's  Chase  River,  130;  on 
Hocomawananck  River,  121 ;  on 
Meherrin  River,  118,  119,  120;  on 
Penna  Mount  River,  115;  on  Pen- 
nants Bay,  125  ;  on  Roanoke  River, 
124  and  footnote;  on  Woodford 
River,  120 
Blandford:    Batts-Fallam    party    at, 

196 
Blandina    River:    description,     126; 

named  by  explorers,  123 
Blankets:    imported    from    England, 

33 
Blue   Ridge   Mountains:   J.    Lederer 

on,  65,  66 
Bly,  John:  son-in-law  of  A.  Wood, 

45,   footnote 
Board    of   Trade:    memorial    of    D. 

Coxe  to,  53,  54 
Bolton,   Captain  — :   at   Mississippi, 

20 
Bolton,  Thomas:  see  Baits,  Thomas 


Ind 


ex 


263 


Bond,  Captain  — :  explorations  on 
Mississippi,  233,  fnotnotc;  248, 
footnote 

Botts,    Thomas:   see   Ratts,    Thomas 

Bracelets:  trade  in,  170 

Brewster,  Sackford:  biographical 
notice,  114,  footnote;  at  Nottawav, 
115;  at  Occoneechee,  124;  at 
Pyanchas  Park,  123 ;  at  Totero, 
124.  Explorations,  48,  114;  on 
Blandina  River,  123 ;  Brewsters 
River,  121 ;  Farmer's  Chase  River, 
130;  Hocomawananck  River,  121; 
Meherrin  River,  iiS,  no,  120; 
Penna  Mount  River,  116;  Pennants 
Bay,  125;  Roanoke  River,  124  and 
footnote;  Woodford  River,   120 

Brewsters  Island:  explorers  at,  121 

Brewsters  Point:  named  by  explor- 
ers,  125 

Brewsters   River:   explorers    at,    121 

Byrd  [Bird],  Colonel  William:  atti- 
tude towards  Bacon's  Rebellinn, 
76;  career,  36,  footnote;  char- 
acterization, 194;  explorations,  77, 
192,  246;  knows  of  French  explo- 
rations, 77;  Indians  killed  by,  43; 
social  status,  90;  writings,  31.  In- 
terest in  fur-trade,  77;  in  mines, 
93  ;  in  West,  76,  77 

Canada:  fur-trade  in,  58 

Carolana  [Coralina]:  colonization, 
240;  grant  to  D.  Coxe,  232,  foot- 
note; to  R.  Heath,  239;  to  J. 
Shaen,    241;    revived    interest    in, 

239 

Carolina:  description,  135;  exploita- 
tion of  lands,  59 

Carteret,    Sir   George:    speculations, 

57 
Carteret,     Sir     Philip:     interest     in 

Carolina,    59,   footnote 
Catawba  Indians:  joined  by  Saponi 

and  Tutela,  197;  trade  route  to,  32 
Catlett,     Colonel:    explorations,    69, 

163-166 


Chamberlayne,   Thomas:   son-in-law 

of  A.  Wood,  45,  footnote 
Chaowanon:  see  Shaivnee   Indians 
Charles  II :  court,  56 
Charles    Island:    named    by    Bland, 

124;  see  Occoneechee 
Charleston    (S.    Car.):  trade   center, 

33 
Chavaiiones:  see  Shawnee  Indians 

Chawan  Indians:  see  Shaivnee  In- 
dians 

Chawan  River:  explorers  on,  114, 
116 

Cherokee  Indians:  defeated  by 
Shawnee,  88 ;  description  of  vil- 
lage, 82;  interest  in  white  men, 
82,  83;  Tomahitans  identified 
with,  81;  trade,  33,  78,  92;  unite 
with  English,  83;  visit  Fort  Hen- 
ry, 89;  warfare,  86,  87,  88 

Chevanoues:  see  Shaivnee  Indians 

Cliickahominy  [Shickehamany]  In- 
dians: J.   Lederer  visits,  64 

Chickahominy  River:  military  post 
on,  29;  J.  Lederer  on,  145 

Chiles,  Walter:  granted  right  to  ex- 
plore,  lOI,    I02 

Chounterounte  Indians:  hostility, 
128  ;  Indian  chief,  115 

Cinabar:  used  by  Indians,  158 

Clarendon,  Earl  of:  interest  in  Caro- 
lina,   59,    footnote;     speculations, 

57 
Clayboume,   Colonel  William:  biog- 
raphical note,  102,  footnote;  grant- 
ed   right    to    explore,    102;    trcde 
monopoly,    51 
Clayton,    John:    letter   to   Royal    So- 
ciet}',  194;   rector  of  Crofton,   183, 
footnote;    sends    report    to    Rnyal 
Society,  54,  footnote;  transcript  of 
Fallam  journal,  181-193 
Cloth: trade  in,  169 
Cochineal:  found  in  America,  242 
Cockarous:  meaning,  116,  footnote 
Codrington,      Colonel      Christopher: 
letter  to  Arlington,  210,  footnote 


264 


Trans-Allegheny  Region 


Colleton,  Sir  Peter:  interest  in  Caro- 
lina, 59,  footnote 
Colonization:  fostered  by  Matrevors, 
240;  indenture  system,  35;  inter- 
est, 93,  94;  of  Carolana,  240; 
stock  companies,  22.  Interested 
individuals -'E.  Bland,  50;  W. 
Byrd,  50;  D.  Coxe,  231,  footnote 
Commanders:     salary     at     military 

posts,  30 
Commerce:  expansion  in  seventeenth 
centur>-,   22;    fostered   by    Charles 
II,  56;  see  Trade 
Commission:   for  explorer,  103,  176, 

184 
Conestoga    [Sasquesahanough,    Sus- 
quehannock]     Indians:    serve     as 
guides,  67,  151 ;  totem  of,  143 
Contest  in  America  betiueen   Great 
Britain  and  France,   The:  asserts 
England's    land   claims,    21,   foot- 
note; Wood's  discoveries,  54 
Copper:  used  by  Indians,  127,  162 
Corkes,  John:  signs  order  of  assem- 
bly, 112 
Corn     (Indian) :     cultivation,     in, 
I20,    209;    used   by   Indians,    123, 
168 ;  value,  209 
Cotton:  exported  to  England,  242 
Council:  of   French   and  Indians  at 

Sault  Ste.  Marie,  17,  18 
Council  of  State:  investigates  ex- 
plorations, 51 
Coxe,  Colonel  Daniel  (son  of  Dr. 
Daniel  Coxe)  :  Colonization 
schemes,  234,  footnote;  mentions 
English  explorations,  21,  footnotes 
70,  7/;  inaccurac}',  75 
Coxe,  Dr.  Daniel:  biographical  no- 
tice, 231,  footnote;  account  of  ex- 
plorations, 53,  231-249;  map  of 
explorations,  244;  transcript  of 
Fallam's  journal,  183,  footnote; 
reads  of  explorations  in  America, 
243,  244;  governor  of  New  Jersey, 
244;  memorial  to  Board  of  Trade, 


54;  to  William  III,  53,  202;  sug- 
gests division  of  western  land,  249 

Craven,  Charles:  interest  in  Amer- 
ica,  59,   footnote;  speculations,   57 

Cree  Indians:  hold  council  with 
French  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  17,  i8 

Cumberland   River:    settlement,   205 

Customs:  of  Indians,  117,  118,  119, 
120,  121,  122,  123,  125,  127,  142, 
143,  144,  147,  149,  153.  I54-.  15s. 
156,  157,  158,  159,  160,  162,  165, 
213 

Dan  River:  expedition  of  A.  Wood, 

54,    footnote;    J.    Lederer  on,    68; 

Occaneechi  Indians  on,  80,  footnote 
Danvers,   Sir   John:   109,   footnote 
Delatega,     Garzilazia:    History     of 

Peru,  244 
Denonville,    Jacques    Rene:    excites 

Indians   against  English,   236 
De  Saint-Lusson,  Damont:  see  Saint 

Lusson 
Doherty,  Mr.  — :  marries  Indian,  91, 

footnote 
Dudley,  Colonel  Joseph:  governor  of 

New  England,  244 

England:  influence  over  Indians, 
92;  Indian  allies,  83;  interests  in 
America,  23 ;  fur-trade,  58 ;  im- 
ports from,  33;  land  speculation 
in,  59;  explorations,  91,  235;  set- 
tlements on  Ohio,  204.  Claim  — 
to  Mississippi,  19,  21,  54-55,  foot- 
note, 74,  78,  191,  232-233,  foot- 
note, 234,  249;  to  Ohio,  90,  203 

Eno  [Aeno,  Oenock], (Indian  town): 
J.  Needham  at,  214 

Eno  Indians:  description,  156, 
Lederer  visits,  68 

Eno  River:  Occaneechi  Indians  on,  80 

Eruco  River:  J.  Lederer  on,  162 

Exaudiat:  sung  by  French  at  Indian 
council,  18 

Explorations:  petition  for  right,  28, 


Index 


265 


103;  planned  by  Berkeley,  175, 
176;  reasons  for,  61,  92,  ioq,  175, 
176,  238;  hindered,  89;  influence 
on  frontier,  26;  on  trade,  60;  re- 
vived interest  in,  239;  urged  by 
Virginia  governors,  45;  extent, 
243;    traces,    186,    188;     rewards, 

101,  102,  104;  ignored  by  Vir- 
ginia, 214;  instructions  of  J.  Led- 
erer,  167;  food  used,  168,  212, 
247;  effect  of  Bacon's  Rebellion, 
89;  carried  on  at  Fort  Henr\',  34; 
commission  for,  103,  176,  184;  cost 
of,  85,  210,  217.  Encouraged  by — 
assembly  of  Virginia,  51,  55,  loi, 

102,  103,  104;  W.  Berkeley,  46,  61, 
66,  69,  77,  177,  179  ;  governors,  45  ; 
A.  Wood,  184,  201,  2io;  D.  Coxe, 
233,  footnote,  245,  247;  De  Sailly, 
247.  Described  by  —  D.  Coxe,  231; 
E.  Bland,  109;  R.  Fallam,  183;  J. 
Lederer,  133;  A.  Wood,  210. 
Conducted  by~G.  Arthur,  79- 
89;  T.  Batts,  70-74,  200,  210;  E. 
Bland,  48,  80,  114;  Bond,  248, 
footnote;  S.  Brewster,  48,  114;  W. 
Byrd,  77,  192,  246;  Catlett,  69, 
163;  De  la  Muce,  247;  English, 
25,  78;  R.  Fallam,  70-74,  210; 
French,  24,  25;  Frontenac,  60; 
Gregory,  246;   W.   Harris,  66,  67, 

103,  footnote,  149,  177;  Joliet,  21, 
24;  La  Salle,  24,  60,  202,  235;  J. 
Lederer,  62,  64,  66-69,  126,  foot- 
note, 152,  177;  Marquette,  21,  24; 
J.  Needham,  79-85,  201,  2io,  246; 
Newport,  28  ;  J.  Nicollet,  24,  foot- 
note, 25 ;  E.  Pennant,  48 ;  Perci- 
vall,  246;  E.  Ponnant,  114;  J. 
Smith,  28  ;  Spotswood,  203  ;  trad- 
ers, 56;  A.  Wood,  54  and  foot- 
note, 70,  77,  78,  80;  T.  Wood,  70; 
H.  Woodward,  79,  footnote.  Lo- 
cality —  Appomattox  River,  28, 
196;  Blackwater  Lake,  130; 
Blackwater  River,  49;    Brewsters 


River,  121;  Blandina  River,  123; 
Chawan  River,  114,  116;  Chicka- 
hominy  River,  145;  Dan  River, 
55,  footnote;  Eruco  River,  162; 
Illinois  River,  25;  James  River, 
28,  51,  149;  Lake  Pimiteoui,  202; 
Little  Tennessee  River,  82,  foot- 
note; Meherrin  River,  49,  118, 
119,  120;  Mississippi  River,  20, 
25,  232-234,  footnote,  235,  245, 
246,  248  and  footnote ;  New 
River,  54,  footnote,  73 ;  Notta- 
way  River,  49,  114,  115;  Ohio 
River,  53,  73,  201,  245;  Otter 
Creek,  152;  Pamunkey  River,  04, 
145;  Pede  River,  197;  Penna 
Mount  River,  116;  Rapidan  River, 
64;  Rappahannock  River,  147, 
163;  Roanoke  River,  49,  72,  124 
footnote,  152,  187,  152;  Schuylkill 
River,  245 ;  Staunton  River,  67, 
71,  185,  197;  Tennessee  River,  82, 
footnote;  Wisconsin  River,  24, 
footnote ;  Yadkin  River,  68 ;  York 
River,  145 

Fallam,  Robert:  education,  90; 
commission,  184;  explorations,  54 
and  footnote,  70-74,  196,  210,  221; 
itinerarj-,  195,  199,  200;  journal, 
54,  70,  74,  76,  181-193.  Ex- 
plorations —'bievf  River,  73,  189; 
Ohio  River,  201 ;  Pede  River, 
197;  Roanoke  River,  187;  Staun- 
ton River,  185,  197;  Swift  Creek, 
188;  Wood  River,  198;  Hana- 
thaskies,  185,  193;  Peters'  Falls, 
192;  Saponi,  185;  Totero,  186; 
claims  land  for  England,  74, 
191;  report,  54-55,  footnote;  re- 
turn to  Fort  Henn,-,  193 

Farmer,  Robert:  servant  to  E. 
Bland,  115,   130 

Farmers  Chase  River:  130 

Farming:  Indian  methods,  48;  in 
Virginia,  209 


266 


Trans-Allegheny  Region 


Farrer,   Mr.  — :  map,  47 

Feudalism:  revival   in  America,  30 

Fish:  abundance  in   Virciinia,   no 

Fleet,  Captain  Henry:  granted  right 
to  explore,  102;  trade  monopoly,  51 

Floods,  Captain  — :  advised  against 
trading,  ii6 

Food:  of  explorers,  168,  190,  247; 
of  Indians,  123,  124,  147,  151,  154, 
156,  157,  158,  168,  191,  213,  223 

Fort  Crevecoeur:  built  by  La  Salic, 
202 

Fort  Henry:  location,  114;  Chero- 
kee at,  89;  establishment  of,  29; 
exploring  party  from,  47,  50,  79, 
114,  210;  incorporated  as  Peters- 
burg, 31;  known  as  Wood,  30; 
return  of  Batts-Fallam  party,  193  ; 
of  explorers,  74,  130;  of  Needham, 
83,  214;  trade  routes  from,  32; 
A.  Wood  commander  of,  30 

France:  controls  trade,  194;  fears 
English  traders,  91;  fur-trade,  58; 
hold  council  vpith  Indians,  17,  i8 ; 
interests  in  America,  23  ;  mistreat 
English,  237;  explorations,  24, 
footnote,  25 ;  settlements  on  Mis- 
sissippi, 194,  248 ;  attacks  Hud- 
son's Bay,  235.  Claim  to  —  Missis- 
sippi, 21,  234;  Northwest,  18,  202, 
203,   249;   Ohio,  96 

French  and  Indian  War:  cause,  21 

French  Broad  River:  82,  footnote 

Frontenac,  Count  Louis:  explora- 
tions, 60 

Frontier:  description,  27,  32,  33; 
antagonism  to  Berkeley,  76 ;  in- 
fluence on  exploration,  26 ;  inter- 
course with  Indians,  91;  trade 
centers,  61 

Furs:  Byrd's  interest  in,  77;  used  by 
Indians,  147 

Fur-trade:  57,  58,  60,  76,  77,  88,  91, 
92,  93,  118,  121,  232,  footnote,  245 ; 
organized  by  La  Salle,  25 ;  rival- 
ry in,  23 ;  success  in,  24 


Fustick  River:  origin  of  name,  242 

Cist,  Christopher:  explorations, 
198 

Gold:  desire  for,  177 

Great  Kanawha  River:  G.  Arthur 
on,  87 

Great  Lakes:  France  takes  posses- 
sion,  18  ;   known  by  Byrd,  194 

Gregory  [Grigory],  Major:  attacked 
by  French,  237;   explorations,  246 

Grosseilliers,  M.  de:  career,  58; 
wanderings,  24,  foot?tote 

Guns:  imported  from  England,  33; 
possessed  by  Indians,  80;  scare 
Indians,  120;  trade,  83,  170,  214 

Hacluite,  Mr.  — :  publishes  trans- 
lation of  Delatega,  244 

Hamond,  Francis:  granted  right  to 
explore,  104 

Hanahaskie  Indians:  see  Monahas- 
sano 

Harris,  Major  William:  biographi- 
cal notice,  103,  footnote;  peti- 
tions assembly,  103  ;  granted  right 
to  explore,  55;  explorations,  66, 
67,  103,  footnote,  149,  177;  parts 
with  Lederer,  151;  slanders  Led- 
erer,   151 

Hartwell,  Mr.  — :  plants  colony  for 
Matrevers,  240 

Harvy,  Sir  John:  land  grant  to 
Matrevers,  240 

Hasecoll,  John:  murders  Needham, 
84 

Hatcher  [Hattcher],  Henry:  reports 
murder  of  Needham,  84,  215; 
status  of,  90 

Hatchets:  imported  from  England, 
33  ;   trade,  223 

Hawley,  Captain  Henry:  plants  col- 
ony for  Matrevers,  240 

Heath,  Sir  Robert:  grant  of  Caro- 
lana  to,  239 

Herbs:  use  of,  by  Indians,   165 


Index 


267 


Hill,  Colonel  Edward:  defeated  by 
Ricahecrians,  155,  footnote;  re- 
moval,  42 

Hocomowananck  Indians:  explorers 
visit,  119;  treachery,  123 

Hocomawananck  River:  see  Roanoke 
River 

Hoes:  trade  in,  170 

Holland:    fur-trade,    58 

Holston  River:  settlement  on,  205 

Hooe  [Hoe],  Rice:  biographical 
note,  loi,  footnote;  granted  right 
to  explore,   loi,    102 

Hudson's  Bay:  fur-trade,  58 

Hudson's  Bay  Company:  rise,  58  and 
footnote,  59;  trouble  with  colo- 
nists, 76 

Huguenots:  settlement,  231,  footnote 

Illinois  Indians:  conquered  by  Iro- 
quois, 233;  settle  with  Osage,  235 

Illinois  [Illinouecks,  Ilinois]  River: 
navigation,  249;  opened  by  La 
Salle,  25 

Illinouecks:  see  Illinois 

Imports:  from  England,  33 

Indenture:  necessity  for,  35 

Indentured  servants:  as   traders,   90 

Indian  John:  murders  Needham,  84 

Indians:  agricultural  method,  48; 
attack  Spanish  town,  219;  canoes, 
213;  coins,  170;  conversion,  109, 
no;  council  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
17,  18;  customs,  117,  n8,  119, 
120,  121,  122,  123,  125,  127,  142, 
143.  144.  147.  149,  153,  154.  155. 
156,  157,  158,  159.  160,  162,  165, 
213;  defeated  by  Bacon,  124,  foot- 
note; describe  western  lands,  46; 
description  of  village,  213;  effect 
of  liquor,  170;  food,  123,  124,  147, 
151,  154,  156,  157,  158,  168,  191, 
213,  223;  friendliness,  245;  gods, 
143;  government,  153,  154,  157; 
guns,  214;  help  A.  Wood,  33; 
hostility,  26,  29,  42,  49,  79,  84,  no. 


115,  ii8,  124,  footnote,  128,  129, 
152,  187,  198,  213;  influence  of 
English,  92;  intercourse  with  trad- 
ers, 91;  killed  by  Byrd,  43;  mar- 
riage among,  144;  marry  whites, 
91  and  footnote;  medical  remed- 
ies, 165;  negotiate  with  A.  Wood, 
43;  origin,  144;  records,  142,  143; 
religion,  143,  160,  220;  timidity, 
115,  120,  127,  128;  totems,  143; 
trade,  33,  44,  47,  50,  61,  78,  83, 
88,  92,  93,  112,  116,  117,  ii8,  119, 
122,  161,  162,  169,  170,  213,  234, 
footnote,  236,  245;  treachery,  155, 
215,  216;  treatment  by  Indians, 
237;  by  Spanish,  83,  213;  Treaty 
of  Albany  with,  204;  used  as 
guides,  70,  71,  82,  168 ;  utensils, 
214;  village,  82;  warfare,  86,  87, 
88;  war  implements,  219;  wars 
iimong,  121,  122,  221.  Use  — cat. 
fur,  147;  copper,  162;  herbs,  165; 
lion  skins,  148;  salt,  158,  198 
Indigo:  found  in  America,  242 
Iroquois  [Irocois]  Indians:  attacked 
by  French,  237;  conquests,  197, 
233,  234;  possessions,  231;  war 
with    Shawnee,    199 

Jackzetavon:  guide  to  Lederer,  151 
James   River:   description,    150;    ex- 
plorations, 28,  51,  149;  J.  Lederer 

on,  149;  military  posts  on,  27,  29; 

J.  Smith  and  Newport  on,  28;  A. 

\\'ood  at,  53  and  footnote 
Jesuit:  present  at  Indian  council,  17, 

18 
Johnson,    Joseph:    granted    right    to 

explore,    lor,    102 
Jones,    Abraham:    grandson    of    A. 

Wood,  45,   footnote 
Jones,       Cadwallader:       establishes 

trading  post,  31;   social  status,  90 
Jones,    Peter    (Wood's   son-in-law): 

45   and   footnote;  succeeded  by  J. 

Richards,   210,   footnote 


i68 


Trans-Allegheny  Region 


Kaskufara        [Kaskous] :       Indian 

chief,   162 
Katearas:  Lederer  at,  162 
Kawitziokan :  visited  by  Ledeier,  162 
Kentucky:  discoven-,   55,  footnote 
Kettles:  imported  from  England,  33 
Kickapoo    [Kicapous]    Indians:  con- 
quered by  Iroquois,  233 
Kimages  (estate  of  Ed.  Bland)  :  m, 

footnote 
Knives:  trade,  88,  170,  221 

La  Ronton  [le  Houton]  Baron:  re- 
lates murder  of  F.  Marion,  237 

Lake  Huron:  France  takes  possession 
of,  18 

Lake  Pimiteoni:  La  Salle  at,  202 

Lake  Superior:  France  takes  posses- 
sion of,  18 

Land:  colonists  desire,  36;  explor- 
ations, 45 ;  right  of  explorer  to, 
29;  speculation,  56,  94;  survey, 
204.  Grant  to  —  W.  Clayborne, 
51;  commanders,  30;  H.  Fleet,  51; 
A.  Wood,  37,  52.  Patents  -  104^, 
232,  footnote;  to  W.  Clayborne, 
102  ;explorers,  loi,  102,  103,  104; 
to  H.  Fleet,  102;  R.  Hooe,  loi, 
footnote 

Langston,  Anthony:  granted  right  to 
explore,  55;  petitions  assembly, 
103 

Lansdowne,  Lord:  favors  American 
colonization,  239 

La  Salle,  Robert  Cavelier:  explora- 
tions, 24,  60,  202,  235;  on  the  Il- 
linois, 25;  organizes  fur-trade,  25 

Law,  John:  enterprises  of,  22 

Lederer,  John:  characterization,  136; 
accompanied  by  W.  Harris,  103, 
footnote  120;  conjectures,  166;  ex- 
aggerations, 63,  68,  69;  flees  to 
Maryland,  136;  returns  to  Vir- 
ginia, 163 ;  second  expedition, 
177;  slandered  by  Harris,  151; 
third  expedition,  163;  instructions 
to   future  explorers,   167;    Discov- 


eries —  1^1-^7^',  Travels,  63.  Ex- 
plorations —  62,  64,  66,  69,  126, 
footnote,  177;  at  Katearas,  162; 
Kawitziokan,  162;  Nottoway,  163; 
on  Chickahominy  River,  145;  Eru- 
co  River,  162;  Otter  Creek,  152; 
Rappahannock  River,  147,  163; 
Roanoke,  152;  Ushery  Lake,  159. 
Fisits -Eno,  156;  Meherrin,  163; 
Monacans,  149;  Occaneechi,  153; 
Saponi,  152;  Sara,  158;  Shakori, 
157;  Tuscarora,  162;  Wateree, 
158;  Waxhaw 

Le    Houton,   Baron:   see    La   Ronton 

Lewis,  Major  William:  granted 
right  to  explore,  55;  petitions  as- 
sembly,   103 

Little  Tennessee  River:  Needham 
at,  82,  footnote 

Locke,  John :  secretary  to  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury,  79;  correspondent  of 
J.  Richards,  210,  footnote;  memo- 
randum,  209 

Logwood  River:  origin  of  name, 
242 

London:  market  for  furs,    58 

London  Company:  colonization  un- 
der, 35 

Looking-glass:  trade,  170 

Louis  XIV:  acquires  possession  of 
middle   west,    18 

Ludwell,  Thomas:  letter  to  Lord 
Arlington,  177;  to  government,  66 

Mackgregor,  Major  — :  attacked 
by    Indians,    237 

Maharineck:  see  Meherrin 

Mahoc,  Mahock:  see  Manahoar  In- 
dians 

Maize:  see   Corn 

Manacan  Indians:  see  Monacan  In- 
dians 

Manahoac  [Mahoc,  Mahock,  Mana- 
goack,  Managog]  Indians:  village, 
141,  149;  war  with  Totopotamoi, 
146 

Manakin:  see  Monacan 


Index 


269 


Manitoulin    (island)  :    France    takes 

possession,    18 
Mannith:  supreme  diety  of  Indians, 

Maraskarin:  mother  of  Indian  race, 

144 
Marion,   Fontain:   guide    to   traders, 

237.   238 
Marquette,    Jacques:  expedition,   21, 

24 

Marriage:  among  Indians,  144;  be- 
tween English  and  Indians,  91 
and  footnote 

Mascoutens  [Maschoutens]  Indians: 
conquered  by  Iroquois,  233 

Massacre:  of   Opechancanough,   26 

Mathews,  Captain  Samuel:  master 
of  A.  Wood,  34 

Matrevers,  Lord:  acquires  right  to 
Carolina,  239;  death,  241 

Meherrin  [Menchaerinck]  Indians: 
description,  118;  visited  by  J.  Le- 
derer,  163 

Meherrin  (Maharineck)  River:  de- 
scription, 120;  explorers  at,  49, 
118,  119,  120 

Melvin,  Frank  E:  24,  footnote 

Menchaerinck  Indians:  see  Meher- 
rin 

Meschacebe  River:  see  Mississippi 
River 

Miami  [Miaraihas]  Indians:  con- 
quered by  Iroquois,  233 

Military  posts:  centers  of  frontier 
life,  27;  description,  32,  33;  gar- 
risons, 32;  establishment,  29; 
maintenance,   30 

Militia:  service  in,  41 

Mines:  government  rights  in,  28, 
102 ;  on  Mississippi  River,  248 ; 
search  for,  93 

Mississippi  [Meschacebe,  Missipy, 
Missisipi]  River:  claims  to,  17, 
18,  19,  55,  footnote,  74,  234;  con- 
quests of  Iroquois  on,  233 ;  de- 
scribed by  Indians,  47,  248;  dis- 
covery,  53,  55,  footnote;  explora- 


tions on,  25,  232-233,  footnote,  235, 
245,  246,  248;  English  traders  on, 
92;  opened  up  by  La  Salle,  25; 
origin  of  name,  199;  settlement 
on,  204,  248 ;  survey  of  lands  on, 
204;  A.  Wood  at,  53 

Mitchell,  Dr.  John:  asserts  claim  of 
England  to  middle  west,  21;  men- 
tions W(X)d's  discoveries,  54,  foot- 
note; remarks  on  Batts-Fallani  ex- 
pedition,   196 

Mohecan  Indians:  habitat,   191 

Moheton  [Mohetan]  Indians:  culti- 
vation of  land,  74;  habitat,  193; 
name,  87,  footnote;  Tomahitans 
identified  with,  81;  villages,  87, 
footnote 

Monacan  [Manacan,  Manakins] 
Indians:  location,  141;  visited  by 
Cherokees,  89;  J.  Ledercr,  66, 
149;   Smith   and  Newport,  28 

Monack   (leader  of   Monakins),  149 

Monahassano  [Hanahaskies,  Han- 
atiiaskies,  Nyhyssan]  Indians:  gov- 
ernment, 153;  hostility,  152;  lo- 
cation, 141,  149;  totem,  143;  visit- 
ed by  Batts-Fallam  part}-,  70,  74, 
185,  193;  by  J.  Ledercr,  152;  war 
with  Totopotamoi,  146 ;  see  Tutelo 
Indians 

Moneton  [Monyton]  Indians:  identi- 
fied with  Mohetan,  87  and  foot- 
note; town,  221;  visited  by  Chero- 
kee, 87;  by  Tomahittans,  222 

Money:  used  by  Indians,  170 

Monopoly:  in  trade,  102,  104,  230, 
footnote 

Monyton  Indians:  see  Moneton  In- 
dians 

Moslcy,  Mr.    — :  map,  197 

Muce,  Marquis  de  la:  on  Coxc's  ex- 
ploration tour,  247 

Nahyssan  Indians:  see  Monahas- 
sano and  Tutelo  Indians 

Nansemond  River:  military  posts  on, 
27 


270 


Trans-Allegheny  Region 


Natoway:  see  Nottoivay 

Needham,  James:  biographical 
sketch,  79  and  footnote;  education, 
90;  agent  of  Wood,  53;  arrives  in 
S.  Carolina,  79,  footnote;  first  ex- 
pedition, 210;  journal,  53,  85; 
meets  Tomahitans,  8i,  211;  return 
to  Fort  Henry,  83,  214;  second  ex- 
pedition, 80,  211;  third  expedition, 
214;  with  Occaneechi,  211;  with 
Tomahitans,  82,  212;  murder,  84, 
215,  216,  217;  epitaph,  85.  Ex- 
plorations —yg-i$,  201,  210,  246; 
at  Eno,  84,  214,  2i6;  at  Sar- 
rah,  216;  at  Sitteree,  81,  211;  at 
Yattken,  217;  on  Carolina  Blue 
Ridge,  81,  212;  result,  92 

Nessoneicks:  location  of,  126 

New  Amsterdam:  seizure,   57 

New  Brittaine:  description,  no; 
named  by  E.  Bland,  49 

Newcombe,  Henrj':  servant  to  A. 
Wood,  130 

Newport,  Mr.  — :  explorations,  2S 

New  [Woods]  River:  Batts-Fallam 
party  on,  189;  description,  189; 
discovery,  73;  explorers,  55,  foot- 
note; trail,  91 

Nicholson,  Governor  — :  character- 
izes D.  Coxe,  231-232,  footnote 

Nicollet,  Jean:  on  Lake  Michigan, 
25 ;  on  Wisconsin  River,  24,  foot- 
note 

North  America:  description,  138;  in- 
terest of  Europe  in,  23;  size,  166 

Nottaway  [Natoway]  Indians:  used 
as  guides,  49;  visited  by  ex- 
plorers,  115;   by   J.    Lederer,    163 

Nottaway  River:  description,  115; 
explorations  on,  49,  114,  115 

Nuntaneuck  [Nuntaly]  Indians:  lo- 
cation, 141 

OcCAxnECHi  [Acconeechy,  Akenatzy, 
Occanechi,  Occhenechees,  Ocche- 
nee,  Occhoneches,  Occoneeche,  Oc- 


coneechie,    Occanacheans,    Okene- 
chee]  Indians:  hostility,  80,  81,  84, 
124,  footnote,  224;  location,  80  and 
footnote,    126    and    footnote,    141, 
197,  225;   totem,   143;  trade  route 
from    Fort   Henry,    32;    treachery, 
68;  visited  by  explorers,  2H,  by  J. 
Lederer,  67,  153;  by  Needham  and 
Arthur,  211 
Occoneechee    [Charles    Island]:   de- 
scription, 124 
Occonosquay:  carries  message  to  ex- 
plorers, 127 
Oenock:  see  Eno 

Ohio  [Hohio]  River:  claims  on,  21, 
96;    discovery,    24,    53,    54,    foot- 
note,  73,    201,   245;    explorers   on, 
245;    fur-traders   on,   91;    Indians 
tell  of,  47;  settlements  on,  204 
Okaec:  god  of  Indians,  143 
Okenechee:  see  Occaneechi 
Opechancanough:  massacre  of,  26 
Osage     [Ozages]     Indians:     Illinois 

Indians  settle  with,  235 
Ottawa   Indians:   hold  council   with 
French  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  17,  18 
Otter:  prevalence,  148;  trade,  122 
Otter  Creek:  J.  Lederer  on,  152 
Ouabaches:  see  Wabash  Indians 
Oustack  Indians:  see  IVesto  Indians 
Oyeocker  (Nottoway  Indian)  :  serves 
as  guide,  116,  130;  visited  by  ex- 
plorers, 115 
Ozages:  see  Osage  Indians 

Pamunkey  [Pemsoncock]  Indians: 
defeat  by  Ricahecrians,  42,  155, 
footnote 

Pamunkey  River:  Indian  victory  at, 
42 ;  J.  Lederer  at,  64,  145 ;  mili- 
tary posts  on,  27,  29 

Parkes,  Colonel  — :  bears  letter  of 
W.  Berkeley,   176 

Parkman,  Francis:  opinion  on  trans- 
Allegheny   explorations,   20 

Pash:  mother  of  Indian  nations,  144 


Index 


271 


Patents:  in  land,  104,  232,  footnote; 
to  W.  Clayborn,  102;  to  explorers, 
loi,    102,    103,    104;    ti)    H.    Fleet, 
102;   to  R.  Hooe,  loi,  iootnote;  to 
A.  Wood,  37,  52 
Pawhatan:   murders  Chawan,   122 
Pearl   River:  origin  of  name,   2^2 
Pearls:  found   in  America,  242,  243 
Pede  River:  Batts-Fallam   party  on, 

197 
Pemsoncock:  see  Parnunkey 
Pembrook,     Earl:    favors    American 

colonization,  239 
Penna  Mount  River:  description,  116 
Pennant,  Elias:  explorations  of,  48 
Pennants   Bay:  named  by  explorers, 

125 

Percivall  [Persivall],  Mr.  — :  ex- 
plorations, 246;  governor  of  Caro- 
lina, 242 

Perecute  (Appomattox  chief)  :  guide 
to  Batts-Fallam  party,  70,  184; 
illness,  72,  73,  187;  initials  cut  on 
trees,   191 

Petersburg:  origin,  44,  .15;  Batts- 
Fallam  party  at,  196 

Peters'  Falls:  Batts-Fallam  party  at, 
192 

Pickawellanee  [Pickawillany] :  set- 
tlement at,  205 

Planes:  imported  from   England,    33 

Ponnar.t,  Captain  Elias:  at  Blandina 
River,  123 ;  at  Brewster's  River, 
121;  at  Farmers  Chase  River,  130; 
at  Hocomawananck  River,  121 ;  at 
Meherrin,  118,  119,  120;  at  Notta- 
way  Town,  115;  at  Occoneechee, 
124;  at  Penna  Mount  River,  116; 
at  Pennants  Bay,  125;  at  Pyanchas 
Park,  123;  at  Roanoke  River,  124, 
and  footnote;  at  Totero,  124;  at 
Woodford  River,  120;  explora- 
tions,  114 

Port  Royal  [Porte  Royal,  Portt 
Royal] :  Arthur  at,  220 

Portugal:  interests  in  America,  23 


Potawatomi  Indians:  hold  council 
with  French  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
17,  18 

INjtomac  [Patowmack]  River:  sur- 
vey of  lands,  204 

Powder:  imported  from  England, 
33 ;   trade  in,   170 

Privy  Council:  letter  from  Viryinia 
governor,  45 

Proclamation:  of  Saint-Lusson  at 
Sault  Ste.  Marie,  18 

Pyanchas  Park:  named  by  explorers, 
123 

Pyancho: Indian  guide,  114,  130 

Qui\COSOUGH:  god  of  Indians,  143 

Radisson  [Radison],  Mr.  — :  aids 
FVench,  235;  wanderings,  24, 
footnote 

Raleigh  [Ravvleigh],  Sir  Walter: 
quoted,  112,  113 

Randolph's  River:  see  Sivift  Creek 

Rapidan  River:  J.  Lederer  at,  64 

Rappahannock  [Rappahanock]  Riv- 
er: military  posts  on,  27;  J. 
Lederer  ori,  69,  147,  163 

Religion:  of  Indians,  143,  160,  220 

Ricaut,  Sir  Paul:  translates  Dela- 
tega,  244 

Richards,  John:  biographical  notice, 
210,  footnote,  letter  from  A.  Wood, 
44,  78,  89,  210;  visits  Virginia,  78 

Richmond  (Va.)  :  growth  from  fron- 
tier post,  31 

Rickahockan  [Ricahecriars,  Rique- 
hroniions,  Rigueronnons]  Indians: 
defeat  English  and  Pamunkeys, 
42;  identification,  155,  footnote; 
location,  161 ;  ambassador  and 
retinue  murdered,  155;  war  with 
Totopotamoi,  146  and  footnote; 
see  Cherokee  Indians 

Roanoke  [Rorenock]  River:  Batts- 
Fallam  party  on,  72,  187;  explora- 
tions   on,   49,    72,    121,    124    and 


272 


Trans- Allegheny  Region 


footnote,  152,   187;  J.  Lederer  on, 
153 
Robinson,  Conway:  notes  by,  30 
Rupert,    Prince:    member    of    Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  59 

Saii.ly,  Barov  de:  explorations,  247 
Saint-Lusson,     Damont      de:      holds 

council  with  Indians,  17,  18 
Salt:  found  by  J.  Lederer,  158;  used 

by  Indians,  no,   127,  198 
Saponi  [Sapeny,  Sapiny,  Sapong,  Sa- 
pon,     Sepiny]     Indians:     location, 
141,  152,  footfiote,  153,  197;  visited 
by    Batts-Fallam,    71,    185;    by    J. 
Lederer,  67,  153;  by  A.  Wood,  71 ; 
used  as  guides,  71,  185 
Sapony  River:  see  Staunton  River 
Sara  [Sarrah]  :  visited  by  J.  Need- 
ham,  216;  by  J.  Lederer,  158 
Sasquesahanough  Indians:  see  Cones- 
toga  Indians 
Sauk     Indians:    hold     council     with 
French  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  17,  18 
Sault  Ste.  Marie:  17,  18 
Saura  Indians:  G.  Arthur   attacked 

by,  88 ;  visited  by  J.  Lederer,  68 
Schuylkill    [Schuil  Kill]   River:  ex- 
plorers on,  245 
Scissors:  trade  in,  170 
Seneca    Indians:    tell    La    Salle    of 

Ohio,  24 
Sepoy:  mother  of  Indian  race,  144 
Servants:   position    in   Virginia,   34; 

see  Indentured  servants 
Settlements:  made  by  Hartwcll,  240; 
by  H.  Hawley,  240;  of  Huguenots, 
233,   footnote.     Location  —  on   Hol- 
ston  River,  205  ;  Hudson's  Bay,  76  ; 
Ohio    River,    204;    Pickawillanee, 
205;   west  of  mountains,  203;  see 
Frontier 
Shackory    Indians:   see    Shakori   In- 
dians 
Shaen,   Arthur:   sells   Carolana,   241 
Shaen,   Sir  James:  acquires  deed  to 
Carolana,   241 


Shaftesbury,  Earl  of:   dedication  to, 
135;    interest   in  America,  59   and 
footnote;     speculations,     57;     pos- 
sesses letter  from  A.  Wood,  79 
Shakori   [Shackory]   Indians:  visited 

by  J.  Lederer,  68,  157 
Shawnee       [Chawan,       Chawanoes, 
Chaouanons]    Indians:   barbarism, 
88;    capture   G.   Arthur,    88;   con- 
quered by  Iroquois,   199,  233;   de- 
feat  Cherokee,    88 ;    murdered   by 
Powhatan,  122 
Shickehamany:  see  Chickaliominy 
Silk:  industry  in  Virginia,    17?,   179 
Silver:  search  for,  62,  178;  trade  in, 

171 ;  used  by  Indians,  127,  160 
Sitteree   [Siteree]  :  location,  81,  211; 
visited     by      explorers,     211,     bv 
Needham  and  Arthur,  81 
Smith,     Captain     John:     at     Appa- 

matuck,   196;  explorations,  28 
Somerset,  Earl  of:  library,  243 
Soto,   Ferdinand   de:  Coxe's   interest 

in   explorations,  244 
South   Sea:  search   for   passage,   46, 

47,  61,  175,  176 
Spaniards:   attacked  by  Indians,  86, 
219;     interest     in     America,     23; 
trade    with,    83,    213,    214;    treat- 
ment of  Indians  by,  213 
Spencer,  Nicholas:  letter  to  Lords  of 

Trade,  43 
Spotswood,   Colonel   Alexander:    ex- 
plorations, 203 
State  of  the  British  and  French  Col- 
onies: asserts  Wood's  discovery,  54 
Staunton  River:  Batts-Fallam  party 
on,   71,    185,    197;    J.   Lederer   on, 
67;     Occaneechi    Indians    on,    80, 
footnote]  origin  of  name,   197 
Stewart,  Mr.  — :  marries  Indian,  91, 

footnote 
Sugar  cane:  cultivation,   no,   124 
Sumners,     Lord:     favors     American 

colonization,  238 
Susquehannock   Indians:   see    Cones- 
toga  Indians 


Index 


273 


Swift  Creek  [Randolph's  River]: 
Batts-Fallam  party  on,   188 

Tagkanysough :  god  of  Indians,  143 
Talbot,  Sir  William:  Discoveries  of 

John  Lcderer,  131-171 
Talifer,   Robert:   visited  by  J.  Led- 

erer,   163 
Tasquehana     River:     explorers     on, 

24s 
Tennessee   River:    Needham    at,   82, 

footnote 

Tetero:  see  Totero 

Tobacco:  cultivation,  no;  value, 
209 

Tomahawks:  imported  from  Eng- 
land, 33 

Tomahitan  [Tomahittan]  Indians: 
defeat,  222;  met  by  Arthur  and 
Needham,  81;  offer  A.  Wood  aid, 
211;  used  as  guides,  213;  utensils, 
214;  visit  Fort  Henry,  225;  Mnne- 
tons,  221 

Toskirora  Indians:  see  Tuscarora 
Indians 

Totems:  of  Indians,  143 

Toteras:  see  Totero 

Totero  [Teteras,  Toteras] :  descrip- 
tion, 124;  location,  197;  visited  by 
Batts-Fallam  party,  186,  192;  by 
Cherokee,  89;  by  explorers,  71,  72; 
see  Tutelo  Indians 

Totopotamoi  [Tottopottama],  (In- 
dian chief)  :  death,  146  and  font- 
note 

Trade:  among  Indians,  122,  161, 
162;  attempts  to  further,  47,  50; 
effect  of  Bacon's  rebellion,  76;  ex- 
plorations, 103 ;  expansion  in 
seventeenth  century,  22;  expense, 
232,  footnote;  harassed  by  Indians, 
124,  footnote;  importance,  44;  in- 
fluence on  exploration,  60;  interest 
of  A.  ^^'ood  in,  44;  jcalrvisy  in, 
225;  monopoly  in,  29,  51,  60,  102, 
104;  of  Virginia  in  West,  91; 
pack    horses    used    in,    33 ;    profits. 


93;  routes,  32,  80;  shell  money 
used  in,  31  ;  stock  companies  for, 
22.  Carried  o«  — with  Indians,  33, 
44,  47,  50,  61,  78,  83,  88,  92,  93. 
112,  116,  117,  118,  119,  169,  170, 
1S4,  213,  236,  245;  with  Span- 
iards, 83,  213,  214.  Articles 
enumerated  —  axes,  169;  beads, 
170;  beaver,  88,  194,  213,  222; 
cloth,  169;  furs,  23,  24,  57,  58, 
60,  76,  77,  88,  91,  92,  93,  ii8, 
121-232,  footnote,  24s;  guns, 
83,  170,  214;  hatchets,  223; 
hoes,  170;  imported  articles, 
33;  knives,  88,  170,  221;  lookint, 
glass,  170;  otter,  122;  pictures, 
170;  po'xvder,  170;  shot,  170 

IVader:  incur  Indian  jealousy,  79, 
80;  indentured  servants  as,  90; 
at  Fort  Henry,  33;  classes  in,  90; 
explorations  of,  56;  on  Mississippi, 
92  ;   on  Ohio,  91 

Treaty  of  Albany:  with  Indians, 
204 

Tuscarora  [Tuskarood,  Toskirora] 
Indians:  expedition  to,  48;  trade 
with,  116,  117;  used  as  express, 
119;  visited  by  J.  Lederer,  162 

Tuskarood:  see  Tuscarora 

Tutelo  Indians:  hostilitv-,  124;  loca- 
tion, 197;  used  as  guides,  72; 
visited  by  Batts-Fallam,  186;  see 
Totero 

Twi':chfwee  Indians:  settlement 
among,   205 

Un'DERTAKER:       maintain       nnlitary 

posts,  30 
Usheni'    Lake:    description,    160;    J. 

Lederer  at,   159 

Vexh.ia  Reci;:  sung  by  French  at 
Indian   council,   17 

Virginia:  act  of  assembly,  30,  joi, 
102;  codification  of  laws,  38;  dis- 
courages explorations,  89;  farm- 
ing    in,     209;     frontiersmen,     90; 


2/4 


Trans- Allegheny  Region 


grants  order  for  colonization,  50; 
ignores  efforts  of  Wood,  214;  in- 
denture in,  34;  Indians  in,  42, 
142 ;  interest  in  fur-trade,  76 ;  J 
Lederer  flees  from,  136;  militia, 
41  and  footnote;  provides  garri- 
sons for  military  posts,  32 ;  ser- 
vices of  A.  Wood  in,  38,  30 ;  set- 
tlers in  West,  203 ;  silk-industry, 
178;  trade  in  West,  91;  %vestern 
explorations,  19.  Assembly  —  com- 
missions explorers,  51,  55,  loi,  102, 
103,  104;  grants  trade  monopoly, 
51;  maintains  posts,  30,  32;  peti- 
tion to,  28 ;  order  of,  102,  103,  104, 
112 

Wabash  [Ouabache]  Indians:  at- 
tacked by  French,  237 

\^''ainoake  Indians:  hostilitj',  T19, 
128 

Waller,  Sir  William:  interest  in 
America,  242 

Warfare:  between  Indians,  87,  SS 

Wateree  [Watary]  Indians:  visited 
by  J.  Lederer,  68,  157 

Watts,    Captain    — :    knighting    of, 

243 

Waxhaw  [Wisacky]  Indians:  visited 
by  J.  Lederer,  159 

Weason,  Jack:  at  Hanathaskies,  185; 
at  Roanoke  River,  1S7;  at  Staun- 
ton River,  185;  at  Totero,  i36;  at 
Saponi,  185;  at  Swift  Creek,  188; 
member  of  Batts-Fallam  pnrty, 
184 

Weesock:  captives  of  Tomahittans, 
218 

West:  description,  no;  English 
claims,  191;  explorations,  loi,  102, 
103,  104,  112,  179;  fur-trade  of. 
60;  interest  of  W.  Byrd,  76,  77; 
Lederer's  conjectures  on,  166 

Westo  [Oustack]  Indians:  warlike 
character  of,  i6o 

Wheat:  cultivation,  209 


William  III:  encourages  schemes  of 
D.  Coxe,  239 

Windsor,  Justin:  opinion  on  trans- 
Allegheny  explorations,  20 

Winnebago  Indians:  hold  council 
ivith  French  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie, 
17,  18 

Wisacky  Indians:  see  IFax/iatv  In- 
dians 

Wood   (settlement)  :  see  Fort  Henry 

Wood,  Colonel  Abraham:  biographi- 
cal   sketch,    34-45;    acquires    land, 
37;   agent  of  W.  Berkeley,  61;   at 
Blandina   River,    123 ;    at   Brews- 
ter's River,    i2i;    at  Hocomav.'an- 
anck    River,     121 ;     at     Farmer's 
Chase   River,    130;    at    Meherrin, 
118,    119,    120;    Occaneechi,    124, 
at  Mississippi  River,  53;   at  Not- 
taway  Town,  115;   at  Ohio  River, 
19,  20,  53;  at  Pennant's  Bay,  125; 
at  Pyanchas  Park,   123  ;  at  Roan- 
oke  River,    124   and    footnote;    at 
Totero,   124;    at  Woodford  River, 
120;    commander    at    Fort    Henn-, 
30;  descendants  of,  44;  discoveries 
of,  54  and  footnote;  education,  90; 
encourages    explorations,    S3,    85, 
201,  210,  214;  explorations,  48,  53, 
54  and  footnote,  70,  77,  78,  80,  114, 
202  ;  granted  right  to  explore,  102  ; 
trade  monopoly,    52 ;    grants  com- 
mission  for  exploration,    18^:    W. 
Harris   subordinate    of,    103,    foot 
note;  hostility  to,  89;  informed  of 
Needham's   murder,   215;    ignored 
bv  Virginia  assembly,  214;  initials 
cut    on     tree,     191;     letter    to     J. 
Richards,  44,   78,  89,  210;   Iovalt>- 
to  government,  76 ;  member  of  as- 
sembly, 38;    of  council,   39;   name 
given    to    Fort    Henr>-,    31;    nego- 
tiates with  Indians,  43;  ordered  to 
open  trade  with  Indians,  21 ;  resi- 
dence,  209;    sends   out    explorers, 
19,   185;  serves  as  justice,  40;   in 


Index 


275 


militia,  41,  42;  social  status,  90; 
trade  with  Indians,  33;  writes 
Needham's  epitaph,  85.  Interest 
in— explorations,  184;  in  Indian 
trade,  44;   West,  76,  80 

Wood,  Mary:  daughter  of  A.  Wood, 
44,  45,  footnote 

Wood  River:  Batts-Fallam  party  on, 
198;  origin  of  name,  54,  footnote, 
20I ;  survey  of  lands  on,  20J  ;  see 
Nein  River 

Wood,  Thomas:  son  of  A.  Wood,  40, 


footnote;  commission,  184;  explor- 
ations, 70,  185;  illness  of,  71,  185; 
death  of,  74,  193 
Woodford  River:  description,  120 
Woodward,  Henr}-:  explorations,  79, 
footnote,  246 

■^'adkim  River:  J.  Lcderer  on,  68 
Vattken  (town) :  Needham  at,  217 
York,  Duke  of:  speculations,  57 
York  River:  J.  Lederer  on,  145 


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